2nd draft thinking and writing

I THINK, THEREFORE I WRITE

"To tell it is to live through it all again. Actions are the first tragedy in life, words are the second. Words are perhaps the worst. Words are merciless" Oscar Wilde.   "Lady Windermere's Fan"

It seems quite obvious to me that writing and thinking are one and the same. With every new sight we see, every new word we read or every unknown fact we learn, new ideas and feelings spark . It is impossible to remain being the same person that we were because all these experiences make us different. However, at this point, the change is inside our own head. It isn't real, it has no substance or shape until we sit down and write.

When we put something on paper we must be able to set boundaries to our own ideas and organize them in a logical order that any reader can follow. In other words , the act of writing gives form to what has previously been immaterial. This is the reason why writing is the most powerful tool we have to understand ourselves and to give meaning to a universe that, at first glance, seems chaotic.

When we write we are forced to confront our own emotions and our own thoughts. Believe me, there is nothing scarier than to see your own heart and your own mind on a blank sheet of paper. At the same time, we are obliged to acknowledge others because whenever we write we are standing on the shoulders of everything we have ever read or heard.

On the same note, the other aspect of writing we can't ignore is the fact that we never write exclusively for ourselves. An author never writes a word that isn't intended for someone else. In that sense, the moment you pick up a pen you are inevitably sharing who and what you are. Intellectually, it is the most intimate act imaginable. It may not seem obvious but writing is not a monologue, it is a dialogue.

This dialogue spans both time and space because writing is mankind's collective consciousness; without it, each time we said or did something it would be like the first time. Writing is how humans avoid being perpetually trapped in the here and now.

This implies a huge responsibility, every time we write we build a bridge, so we must make it a point to stop and ask ourselves: who is going to cross? And where does it lead?.