“Use what talents you possess; The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” William Blake
Someone asked me a few years ago why I blog (I had a personal web site on which I wrote before I adopted this blogging software). At the time I wasn’t sure. I liked to write, but didn’t enjoy writing. I know, that sounds contradictory but by that I mean I enjoyed the result but loathed the process.
Asked to define writing I have always responded, “Writing is rewriting.” Indeed, some of my best work has been gone over and redacted numerous times, but I do not enjoy doing things over again and that is what I hate about writing; I hate editing; I dislike rewriting. I literally have to force myself to do it, much like my mother used to have to force me to eat my vegetables as a kid.
I guess one major reason for this is because I generally do not like doing repetitive tasks. While I am fairly good bowler and I grew up in a family of avid ten pin bowlers, I do not enjoy bowling. It is too repetitive and demands that you consistently repeat the same action over and over without deviation. You strive for repetitive consistency. Now that I look at it that has probably been my downfall in sports in general. While I was athletically gifted, I never ever reached up to my abilities in any sport in which I participated. I wasnt afraid of the work that the sport demanded, just the continuous repetition. Interesting. I wish I had understood that as a young man. I might have been able to do something about it if I had tried to address it earlier. Now…
Another reason why I dislike the process of writing (as defined above) is probably related to my being a verbal person. I think best while talking and one of the things about conversation is that you do not continually go over the same subject again and again until you get it right. If you did, no one would listen for very long and if you persisted pretty soon you would have no one to talk to. If you did find someone to listen their refrain would shortly become, Can we change the subject?
I guess that explains why I need deadlines and put things off until the pressure is an overwhelming motivation. Anything that helps me override the problem of corrective iteration and the attention to detail that goes along with it is a Godsend.
So if I am fatally flawed by my inability to do the repetitive tasking it takes to reach my potential in any area of endeavor, why do I continue to write, to blog, or for that matter to do anything? I guess it is because of what William Blake said. I do the best I can with what I have, warts and all, failings and all, and out of the fount of that which makes up me some good water periodically flows. God alone is perfect. Me, I am a just one of his redeemed souls, struggling to get to the end and hoping as Paul hoped in Philippians 3:11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Grace and peace and blessings to your day.
Update: See also my later posting on Humility, The Blogosphere, And The Family Of God.
Great beginning quote. Enjoyed the post.
Your comments concerning the reason you dislike the writing process are interesting. I am a verbal person, but have found that people do not always have the time to stop and listen to what I have to say. Writing in my blogs Caden’s Page and The Land of Ozz give me a chance to talk as long as I want. People who want to listen can take a break if needed and start listening later where they left off.
Thanks!