Reconnecting With The World As Writers
The world is filled with mysteries under our feet. We just need to open our eyes to see them. Being a writer means I am pursuing inspiration as a constant entity that I need to chase. The thing is, my best writing comes to me when I'm not chasing inspiration. I slow down, breathe in the wind, and notice nuances outside that were always there, but my fast-paced brain never registered them.
I'm asked a lot about being a prolific writer. I write nearly every day, and if it's a hard-pressed, busy day, I try to write down a Haiku at least. The question is, how do you find so much to write? And I counter with how can you not see so much to write into existence?
My favorite time to write is during a walk. The movement somehow unlocks things that would typically stay stagnant in me. I start to reconnect with my body and the creak of my rusty knees. I hear the birds and tie them to my grandmother in the distance, loving them so much she could be a bird. It becomes a piece about my grandmother being a bird now that she's passed.
The wind between the trees reminds me my skin has become alive with nature. I imagine the wind telling me to live today.
Everything is interconnected, which is the beauty of writing is for us to find the connections. It is like witnessing a spider web being formed in front of us. I connect the birds with my grandmother and her love of nature. I hear the trees with the wind telling me to live because it's too beautiful not to live.
We, as writers, are stagnant in our lives. Typing away to the sound of clicking keys and whatever other white noises present themselves. Writers are fortunate to have rich, inner worlds that we created to live inside. But sometimes, being connected to the fast pace of the world makes us disconnect from this world.
I heard a poet say once there is no such thing as writer's block. It's just laziness on the writer's part. I don't think this is precisely true, but I agree that we tend to get in our ways regarding writing and inspiration. Certain things will give me writer's block and shut down my creativity. Generally, it's re-activated trauma, and I can't return to the safety I felt before writing freely.
Another thing I've never heard discussed in response to writing is the feeling of being safe. I didn't feel safe for eight years, so I didn't write anything during that time. My skin bottled up the words I meant to say, and so I hibernated myself. When I finally came out of it, into a situation where I was not just safe but encouraged to write and told that I should pursue this, I have never felt as empowered to follow my writing journey as much as now.
I think sometimes we block ourselves but not intentionally. There are ways that we can reconnect with ourselves. One way for me is the walking outside, the poetry of the sun on my skin, the insects I come across that are tiny wonders that anyone else would step on. But I don't step on them. I turn them into a poem later.
One of the most important things I can say to a writer is to connect with your inner voice. Not with your inner critic, but the dialogue you keep internal that processes the world around you. After you tap into it, don't filter this voice. Let it flow through you, without judgment, without hesitation. What are all the little secrets you've buried under your skin?
Then, tie it together with things you love with life. These can become your metaphors to bring it further into existence. I have certain things that repeat in my writing, my family, grandmothers, and love of science and nature.
I would challenge you if you take hikes or just walks outside to connect with everything. What does the gravel or the concrete feel under your feet? What do the bird calls say to you?
Every time I connect with the voice I hear when I walk, these poems have a specific life to them. They seem to have legs that walk off even when the poem is finished. They breathe a sort of outdoor life, and I see things I keep forgetting.
Flowers are blooming in the dead of winter. Some flowers only live because of snow and winter. What are the seasons of your life, and how would you describe them? How can you open the door to your world and let others, besides yourself, inside the warmth?
This world is too beautiful not to turn into poetry, stories, or whatever form of writing you choose to tell it.
About Sarah Bellum Mental
Sarah Bellum Mental looks to amplify her voice for those who need a voice to speak on tough subjects. She provides workshops to access creativity for writers. She is an author of two poetry books taking orders now. Her IG is: SarahMentalPoet and Website for all info is www.sarahbellummental.com She will be competing in WOWPS 2022 in Baltimore and in Slam Mania III with Write About Now Poetry, January 2022.