Writers On Writing

“How vain it is to sit down to write
when you have not stood up to live.”
 Henry David Thoreau

One day I decided to live. I've always written but until that point I felt trapped. Somewhere during my entrapment I realized that my tools of escape were always with me. They were the words that danced in my head. They were the characters that forged their way and made their own stories and created their own scenes. And for them to be free, I had to first allow myself to roam and experience and LIVE.

No longer could I let fear of acceptance and failure, rule or guide me. I had to learn to allow myself to experience the path as it was laid out and not worry about the road ahead. I had to make up in my mind to smell every rose and risk being stung by quite a few bees. It wasn’t walking blindly but walking wide eyed and alert.

I no longer remember, with clarity, how it felt before I lived but I do know that I made a good choice. The words on the paper have also begun to live and they thank me, because I gave them life. But I thank them because they helped me to live.