The Power Of The Pen

11 Ways Writing With a Pen Can Transform Your Life (true story)

1. Write to name what you face.

A name gives shape to the shadows that follow you, the shadows that age you. When you name something, you are able to face it fully, to grasp it, and do something to change it.

2. Write to remember your life.

Writing things down helps you remember all the in-between days, the fascinatingly normal ones, the ones that make up most of our lives. The feeling of your son pressing his pink, chubby cheek snugly into yours, the way the light flashed florescent off the bubble suspended on your daughters small finger.

We all think we will remember, but somehow most days become a blur, lost in the haze of busyness.

3. Write to see.

“Moving the ink across the page opens up the eyes,” writes Ann Voskamp. We don’t see things unless we are looking for them. When you write, you look for things to see.

4. Write to improve your relationships.

The more I write, the happier I am. The happier I am, the kinder I am to those around me. I often get out frustrations and hurts on paper before they come out in angry words. Paper can be thrown away. Words spoken will always remain in the air – hanging.

5. Write to figure out your problems.

John Piper once said, “There are eyes in pens and pencils.” Instead of always talking to other people about your problems, grab a legal pad, write your problem at the top, and start writing.

Use your pen and paper to write out insights and ideas. Sooner or later – after hours, days, or weeks – the answer to your problem will always emerge. You will be fascinated to see how a pen and paper will help clear away the fog of an unclear mind.

6. Write to figure out where you have been and where you are going.

We loose track of our own days if we do not capture them. Who were you five years ago and have you grown or improved since that point? How will you know if you do not write?

Writing also helps you figure out where you want to go. Write out your goals, dreams, and aspirations, they will help you navigate your life’s waters.

7. Write to help others.

You have something to say, we all do. The great thing is there are people out there who desperately want to hear what you have to say. If you can offer any hope, encouragement, wisdom, or guidance, your message is important.

8. Write to face your own fears.

Write them down. Look at them. “There you are, you nasty fear. I see you!” Fears don’t like to be seen. They like to prey on our minds and drink from our spirits. When exposed for the frauds they are, they often fade like mist in the sun. Fears are fearful creatures themselves, cowards.

9. Write to change.

We process when we write. We can work through things and let things go.

10. Write to learn.

When we write things, they sink deeper into our subconscious.

11. Write for freedom.

When you write, you face you and you alone. There is freedom in this. You can write poems, stories, rambling words, long lines of single words, or scribbles. Anything goes. This is a place where there are are no grades, no right or wrong.

“If you want to change the world, pick up your pen.” -Martin Luther