Words Are Magic!

 

Words truly are magic. I’ve believed that my entire life. Well-written words have the power to transport a reader to another place and time, to evoke feelings of love, hate, hurt, anger, and everything in between, and to teach us about ourselves, other people, and the world all around us. If that’s not magic, I don’t know what is.

I started writing when I was in 4th or 5th grade. First, it was poems and limericks, then it evolved into short stories told to me by my friends. I loved bringing their stories to life on paper. By the time I was in high school, I was writing lyrics for songs, journaling my daily life, and taking copious notes for all my studies. Writing was how I expressed myself. It was how I learned. It was how I dreamed.

I began my dreadful attempt at writing a novel in high school. My friends read it and thought it was great. I didn’t finish it until I was in my 20s, and I quickly found that shopping a novel without an agent took more time than I had to devote to it, so it sat in a closet or my storage shed for nearly 40 years. I decided long ago that it wasn’t worth pursuing. It’s so bad, I’ve thought about burning it more than once, but I put so much work into it that I can’t. It’s also how I first met my husband (a long story for another day), but even he was never allowed to read it. It’s that bad.

I think my writing has improved significantly since then, but I’ve found that my passion doesn’t lie in telling fairy tales to lonely teenage girls. My real impetus is in telling the story of my life, sharing the lessons I’ve learned, and helping others who might need it. I think that’s the mother (or the crone) in me coming out. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve recovered from them. I’ve been hurt, and I’ve recovered from that, too. I have wisdom and experience worth sharing, and Modern Musings provides me with the platform to do so.

In more recent years, I’ve used my words to fix my intentions, set goals, and make plans. I write out lists for groceries, tasks to be completed, and the weekly menu. Writing helps me exert just a little bit of control over what might be an otherwise chaotic life. I use one of our Modern Musings Words Have Power journals to write my daily gratitudes and affirmations, which helps me stay grounded and keeps me from sinking into the negativity and depression that comes so easily to me.  I have a wide assortment of APNs (all-purpose notebooks) in which I jot down thoughts, inspirations, and notes as they occur to me. And I often transcribe those notes into other journals and notebooks where they are sorted into the appropriate categories and expanded upon as needed. And yes, I still keep a journal into which I write about my grief, my journey through life, and especially the revelations and insights my writing has brought to me.

Magic. That’s what writing is. It is a gift that fills my heart and overflows, allowing me to share it with others. It heals. It grows. It shares. The magic of writing absorbs my sorrow and my joy, transforming them into something new. Something greater than what it was when I wrote simple words on a piece of paper. This magic is in all of us if we just let it out. It doesn’t have to be pretty or fancy (did I mention the ugly novel?). It just has to be real. You can start small: lists, plans, gratitudes, or even your intentions. Just write. And write some more. And then just watch as the magic begins to happen.