The Time is Always Right to Write

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I posted my 300th article here last week and I am moving on to the next.

Writing is a very age old thing and existed since the pre-historic time. Simply, it is a systematic way to communicate using symbols. The early 'writings' were done more in the form of drawing but a system of using symbols in writing gradually evolved.

The cave men wrote because they needed to communicate. They needed to tell others a story even during those times when they were not present to do so orally. Today, the reasons for writing have not changed very much.

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We write in many ways.

1. Good old pen and paper

This has existed for a long time and it will probably be around for a very long time more. However, due to the proliferation of other media, this conventional method of writing is taking a back seat today.

2. Typewriter and paper

If you have not used or seen a typewriter before, you are probably rather young. The invention of typewriter changed the way we write. Instead of inscribing the words with a pen, we 'hammer' the letters on a paper with our fingers.

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3. Type and display

When computer became a common sight in our homes and offices, we write with a keyboard, similar to those found on typewriters. Instead of paper, the writing is shown on a display screen. This way of writing changes a few established concepts. For example, we no longer correct a mistake using an eraser or a liquid corrector. Instead, we hit the 'backspace' or 'delete' button.

See article: "The Quirky QWERTY".

4. Soft type and display

Keyboards have gone virtual. Now we can 'write' by typing on computer screens which display the image of a keyboard. With this, we fuse the keyboard into the screen and thus making our gizmos more snugly. However, with virtual keyboards, it also means that we can no longer do touch typing.

5. Finger or pen-based writing

It seems that some people still like to write instead of type. So, some computers allow us to 'write' with a stylus or our fingers. By mimicking writing with a pen, we 'write' by tracing over the screen. Thanks to handwriting recognition applications.

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I am sure the way we write will further evolve and the possibilities are only limited by our imagination. Coming up soon, I expect to be able to write on projection keyboards. These are virtual keyboards which can be projected on any surface and after that, you just type on it. Now, that sounds cool.

I started blogging here two years ago for a simple reason: To write. I still write on conventional media using pen and paper. It is therapeutic to write and at the same time, I think and I learn as I reflect the day.

Occasionally, I do mirror image writing. In that way, I get to heighten my awareness. As I slow down my thoughts to keep pace with my writing, I internalize more of what I write.

See article: "It feels Right to Write".

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If you do not write on a regular basis, try it. For that, I do not mean the stiff corporate reports and business emails which you have to prepare at work. Try writing as you think and see how you gradually internalize ideas which will help you shape the habits that you have always wanted.

Besides pen and paper, there are so many other ways to write. You can practically do it on the fly. The time is always right to write

"If I fall asleep with a pen in my hand, don't remove it.

I might be writing in my dreams."

~ Terri Guillemets ~

 

It Feels Right To Write

It's time to answer a couple of questions.

People have asked me why I bother to blog? Some say it is a waste of time and many wonder where I find the time.

Let's answer one question at a time.


Question 1: Why Write?

Writing does take up my time. What doesn't? Even doing nothing takes up time. Time flies whether you choose to do something useful or not. The question here is whether it is a waste of time.

Tricky. A waste of whose time?

Is it a waste of your time reading my blog? You should know better. To me, this is a tiny problem for it is entirely your choice to read or not to.

Is it a waste of my time writing in a blog? Absolutely not. I have been writing in blogs for years and in this one since last year. I have not found a reason why I should stop doing it. On the contrary, I have found more and more reasons why I should continue to do so.

Here are some of them:

1. Write More Learn More

I do not write about personal trivia, at least, not here. Each time I whip up an article of about 1000 words, I would have read several related articles. They keep me informed and make me think.

Yes, think.

~ Watch your thoughts, for they become words ~

~ Watch your words, for they become actions ~

~ Watch your actions, for they become habits ~

~ Watch your habits, for they become character ~

~ Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny ~

2. Self Conversation

I have a busy schedule. In a typical work day, time flies and by late afternoon, my mind would have been stuffed with many question marks and exclamation marks. Just like eating food, we need to take a moment to 'digest' the going of the day so that we take stock of how things have gone by.

Writing is one of my ways to reflect on things around me. Putting down my thoughts in writing is akin to having a self conversation. I have a chance to ask myself questions and attempt to answer them.

Self conversation (or self reflection) helps me to 'absorb the nutrient of the day and discard the waste'.

"By three methods we may learn wisdom:

first, by reflection, which is the noblest;

second, by imitation, which is the easiest; and

third, by experience, which is the bitterest."

~ Confucius ~

3. Sharing and Shaping Values

Just like anyone else, I have my own set of values. My writing reflects my values and I allow them to be scrutinized. There are values in me which I believe are good and I want to share with like-minded people. There are values in me which I ought to refine, revamp or even remove. I am open to having wiser words going against mine.

At the end of the day, a good set of values is pivoted on one's perspectives. I am prepared to learn to see things from varying angles.

"Every positive value has its price in negative terms ...

the genius of Einstein leads to Hiroshima."

~ Pablo Picasso (Painter) ~

4. Improve Writing Skills

This seems obvious. We all know that practice makes perfect.

Writing was never my forte (not even now). I have never really learnt English grammar well and I had great difficulty spelling words right. Even reading was a chore. I could have chosen to stay where I was but I opted for a more sensible choice - move forward.

My writing still pale next to many writers out there. However, my writing today has been better than that of yesterday and that is what that matters most to me.

"What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure."

~ Samuel Johnson (English author) ~

5. Modify Writing Style

Many friends told me that since they had their last paper in the final year examination, they have hardly written anything more than business reports and emails. By and by, they think and behave like how they write - stiff, cold and sometimes, in passive voice.

I was like them.

Here, I write in a style of my choice. I do not have to worry about executive summaries. I do not have to pitch it for my readers for I do not even know who they are. There is plenty of room for freedom.

"I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind."
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery ~
(French Pilot, Writer and Author of 'The Little Prince', 1900-1944)

So, these are just some reasons why I write. Others are well, perhaps, too personal to be shared here. If all these are a waste of my time, you gotta be kidding!

Question 2: Where do I find the time to write?

The answer is pretty simple: It is the same way as how you have found the time to watch your favourite soap opera on the television; walk your dog in the evening; window-shop in Orchard Road or play soccer during the weekends.

All of us have 24 hours a day, everyday, with the exception of the day we were born and the day we expire. You are your own boss on how you would like to use every minute of your life. I have decided that part of my time should go to writing.

Sorry to disappoint you but the answer is simply: YOU decide if you have the time.

"Until you value yourself, you won't value your time.

Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it."

~ M. Scott Peck (Author, psychiatrist)

I am writing more now and happily addicted to it. It takes up my time and occasionally much of it. It is not as if I have nothing else to do but thus far, it is one of the best investments I have made.

Blog is wonderful. I get to write (almost) anything I want. I get to publish it to a huge pool of potential readers. Best of all, it is free! Other than those times when I suffer from 'writer's block', I enjoy every bit of it. If it is not too disturbing to use 'therapeutic' to describe it, I would.

"Writing is the only thing that, when I do it,

I don't feel I should be doing something else.

~ Gloria Steinem (journalist, feminist) ~

Get Booted Up - Not Booted Out

I blog regularly on random topics.

Usually, I do not have much difficulties coughing out a short article. However, there are times when my brain seems to have frozen and I would be staring at anything and hoping that my mind would boot up. The feeling is not nice.

I wish I could push a button on my head just to get my brain stimulated. Something like a 'restart' key.

For a long time, scientists have been studying various stimuli on living things. They believe that the right stimuli can enhance the functionality of human, animals as well as plants.

Some mothers believe in pre-natal stimulation. It involves lots of talking to the fetus through the Mother's tummy, playing classical music (preferably Mozart) and generally establishing communication with the baby before it is born.

A farmer in UK claimed that playing soothing music to his cows was the secret to winning the World Cheese Awards. He reckoned that the tunes calmed the cows during milking in the parlour.

Researchers agreed as they found out that each cow produced 3% more milk a day when slow music (rather than fast music) was played. They have evidence that calming music reduces stress in animals, as well as people.

It is believed that the Kobe cows, which produce the world's most expensive beef, have music as part of their routine ritual.

Even plants need to be stimulated. People with green fingers believe that talking to plants can help them grow better. That sounds rather lunatic to me but I shall resist my temptation to doubt.

Stranger still, it was reported last week that plants can talk! Err ... actually, they meant that plants can blog!

A 40-cm 'sweetheart plant' named Midori-san, which means 'Green' in Japanese, blogs everyday. It does so with the help of a sophisticated botanical interface system which read the weak bioelectric current flowing across the surface of the leaves. The signal is fed into a computer which then translates it into a human language, in this case, Japanese.

On Oct 16, Midori-san's blog read "Today was a sunny day and I was able to sunbathe a lot… I had quite a bit of fun today."

If you can read Japanese, find out other blog entries by 'Green' on its blog. I assume that 'Green' will not start blogging on office gossips.

Well, even plants can blog everyday, what about me?

I experience writer's block sometimes. The silence from the head can be so deafening that I stop listening to new ideas. The problem is compounding.

I need to feed my brain to stimulate it. I realized that I have to learn to see things differently. This means occasional change of habits, doing something new such as taking a new route or listen to a new radio station.

UCLA scientists have found that "Internet searching engages complicated brain activity, which may help exercise and improve brain function" and searching the Web can stimulate the brain more than other activities such as reading a book.

Traditionally, brain stimulating activities include games such as crossword puzzles, but with the advent of technology, scientists are beginning to assess the influence of computer use, including the Internet.

I cannot agree more.

I have heard comments that Web searching is a waste of time. It is like strolling in the Amazon jungle or swimming in the Pacific Ocean aimlessly. Well, in the first place, you should not even embark on your Web journey if you do not have an aim.



Surely you must have so many unanswered questions everyday. Just pick one and start cruising the Web. After 20-30 minutes, your question may not be fully answered but no one walks out of the Web feeling less informed.


I have an obese cat at home. I am familiar with the sight of 'having nothing better to do'. The thought of being reduced to 'a lump of breathing fur' is frightening. I do not want to be looking like that. I assume it is the same for you too?

It's time to feed my brain! 

Let's Look At It This Way

Same thing... different views. This will set the backdrop of this blog

It's been said that no two human brains can ever be wired with identical circuitry and we all think differently. I would like to reserve my agreement pending the success of human cloning. Until such time, we are saddled in this simple universal truth which is denied and ignored by billions - ya, sure, you have started to disagree.

We see the world not as it is but the the way we are. We set views based on our own values, experiences and emotions. We are built to transmit our views much better than receiving them from others and this is usually the main cause of many man made disasters.

The issue is commonly termed as communication. I have often heard the word used as if it means the same thing to all. Sadly, it has never been the case and the term has deteriorated into nothing more than a cliche.. a catachresis.

You will say 'I beg to differ' and I will hear your disagreement. The only thing is that, your differing views will not be delivered to me in bubble wraps. They will reach me in fragmented pieces. If I am conscientious, which most of us aren't, I will attempt to reconstructed the pieces. Here you go... a different picture is formed.

I welcome your disagreement... in fragments or otherwise.