I write for a living, in more ways than one. I earn money by writing. I also write lengthy communications for everything from saving the planet to family health updates. And of course, there are my journals.
Writing as a medium is, no doubt, intricately influenced by era, culture, and mediums. Which is why Swedenborg’s sheer verbosity astounds me—it would be amazing enough if the Writings, all 7000 pages of them, were typed! My dad believes that the brain works differently when typing vs. writing by hand, and I suspect he’s right.
But one thing hasn’t changed, and that is that we still are responsible for our own writing—or at least, we should be. Anonymity in online media today is a sure route down a rabbit hole into acrimony, hostility and mistaken assumptions. I am careful to only write what I am willing to put my name behind, for better or for worse. This has helped me to acquire a level of caution I didn’t used to have, and also discouraged, or at least slowed, my reactive (usually passionate) declarations or responses.
I want my words to be heard. I want them to matter. I want them to make the world better. These are not bad things!
Continue reading Verbal Wisdom Doesn’t Get Me Into Heaven?