Healing Through Writing...

Reasons to write are everywhere...inspiration can be found through the simplest things...healing can begin with what your words create. Many people choose to write with the desire of becoming famous; others just have a need to express themselves. I’m one of the latter...in every essence of the word. Although I have 2 books already published, not many people I encounter on a daily basis know about them. I write for myself...for the love of writing...I write to leave a legacy for my children. I don’t believe in flaunting my success or bragging about things I’ve accomplished. What I have in this life is possible because I desired to achieve them. I don’t expect to become rich...don’t want my face plastered all over the media...I just want to be left alone to write.

The challenges that I’ve faced in my life were easier to handle because I have a creative talent to fall back on. It’s my own little form of therapy. When I’m mad about something, I write...when I’m stressed out and upset, I write...when I’m happy, I write. It seems that I spend most of my time pecking away at the keyboard. To anyone that knows me, they understand that nothing is off limits when it comes to the topics I tackle. My ideas could quite simply come from the smell of my dinner burning on the stove...or the idiot that ran me off the road. When my brain starts working, there’s no way to stop it until I have a story completed. It leads to a pretty stressful way of life when you think about it. The lack of sleep is dreadful...but well worth it most of the time.

Lately, it would be nice if I didn’t have a reason to write. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. If the fact that my tumor came back isn’t enough, my son just got expelled from school. He didn’t even make it through the 9^th grade before his lack of good judgement got the best of him. Now, the only time I get to talk to my son is when they let him make a 5 minute phone call to me...which isn’t even every day. I didn’t get to make it in for a visit yet...which leads to more writing. There are another 5 days to go before I get to see him. Even though he’s not going to be gone long, it still tears me up inside. The legal system decided that he needed to be taught something by sitting in there until his hearing (which are 2 misdemeanors). In my mind, it is that tough love that he needs...considering everything I preach about goes in one ear and out the other. He’s definitely understanding the depths of his choices...he cries himself to sleep every night. In the past 5 days that he’s been gone, I got 2 letters from him. As I read each one, I held onto the letter and cried. I want to bring him home with me, but he needs to accept responsibility for his actions.

For now, I’ll spend my time sitting here with my laptop...looking for new topics to write about...creating stories that will help me to heal. It works, you know - writing as a way of healing. When I read the things I’ve written, it amazes me most of the time. Just the thought that I could end up with something that passionate is a rush...it’s an addiction. There are a lot of times that I cry just from reading things that I wrote years before. My life has been full of ups and downs just like everyone else’s...but it hasn’t gotten the best of me...not yet. Somehow, I always seem to move ahead. Without this creative outlet, who knows where I’d mentally be right now.

Not only do I write to heal myself, I write to help other people heal also. It’s my responsibility...it’s my desire to let other people know that they aren’t alone in this world. If my words can help someone else, then that will make me a success. It’s not how many books I’ve published...how many screen plays I’ve written...how much money I make... what makes me famous is the number of people I’ve helped. I’ve accomplished that by first writing to heal myself...