CW 27 2020 | Fireside chats and storytelling
Originally published on Wordpress
Someone close to me asked me — “Why do you write?”
Is it for fame? Is it for adulation? Is it for appreciation?
What is the core drive for writing? I don’t know if it’s writing — but I think for me personally, this format is the easiest — creating original content in forms of images, videos requires more skill. Although the other formats are much more richer and I think writing / reading will soon be a lost art (not in the immediate future — but just like cinemas / theatres are going to be replaced with streaming eventually, I guess with our lowering attention spans — anyway, I learnt a lot by reading and some of the best moments of my early formative years were spent reading, in an imaginary world — living the words written by someone with a beautiful imagination.)
So yeah, probably that’s why I write. If there’s someone out there who finds solace or likes to just, you know, read stories / talk about stuff. Only humans can talk about ‘abstract’ concepts like love, friendship, humanity, morals, physics, chemistry, maths.
It’s insane! The very fact we can communicate in so many ways — and despite that, choosing not to share, or humans feeling ‘lonely’, ‘sad’, ‘annoyed’, ‘frustrated’, ‘tired’ or ‘overwhelmed’ with life in general. There’s no black and white in life — the world is always balanced; inherently the more sorrow (and happiness) we introduce there’s always a counter-balancing force — same for pros and cons (or benefits and damages) of anything — say technology.
Anyway, back to why I write — because I read stuff someone once wrote — and if I am not able to find stuff written (or if I find written content) — I try to share that with the future me (or other like-minded individuals in the present).
So, today I have some to-do’s for the future me. :) the present you’s might find them useful too.
Probably one of the weirdest and most disconnected blog I would write (but yes, at this point — I am not even trying to make it coherent enough / concise enough — so in case I haven’t lost you till now — I promise you, the next part is not going to be better. :P)
Nice niches (N.N.’s) are things which are very specific to certain type of personalities.
Identify your own (and create a tribe of like-minded — NOTE: similar is not equal to same — people who make you forget the dreadfulness of life) and stick to basics when the world is too much.
So here’s an intensely personal list, hope it is universal (in terms of spurring you to find your own N.N’s if not in terms of relatability)
N.N. #1: Whenever you forget why you like reading, read (re-read) the books which made you think, which made you curious, which literally elevated the topics / issues you think about. Personal recommendations: Sapiens, To Kill A Mockingbird
Top quotes, although there are many — these are the ones I would like to highlight now.
(Source: Internet)
N.N. #2: If reading is not possible, watch videos. Same criteria as before. Personal recommendation: Like Stories Of Old (YouTube channel) — so many others — but this will take a lot of time. I don’t want you to read / watch all this — but just bookmark these — and see them someday (when you’ve time)
-> As terrible as life can be, life is worth living if not for ourselves but for others!
-> Happiness is amazing. It’s so amazing that it doesn’t matter if it’s yours or not.
-> Art and storytelling are distillation processes. Commenting on one of his sculptures, Michelangelo said “I saw the angel in the marble and I carved until I had set him free.” That’s what it is. You see a chunk of reality, identify the meaning within, and carve away everything that’s frivolous, redundant, or incidental until the only thing you’ve got left is the meaning. I like to call this meaning “the juice.” Because of this, I wouldn’t say that purpose is difference between stories and reality, as is commonly assumed. The meaning was always there, it just needed to be juiced out. I think the assumption that stories inject purpose rather than draw it out is the misunderstanding that drives most of the criticism against traditional stories and their structures. Your point about the futility of trying to live storybook life is a good one, though. Nobody gets to carve out their own angel. That would be the main difference between stories and reality to me.
There are many more nice niches — but everything in moderation, including moderation.
And this is enough homework / to-do’s for the week / month / year (depending on how busy your life is OR how important you think doing the above is).
There’s no right or wrong choice — just find your curated content creator, and enjoy the content. (There are many in this world — and if you would share your favourites with me in comments, or messages or emails — it would help me refine mine.)
Until next time! (And those who stuck till here — thank you. The kind words have been overwhelming — but writing regularly takes a toll on my daily thought processes — so trying to find a balance. But this is just the beginning. I promise.)
