Guest post: It takes courage to write by Jean Dewitt

Inspiration can come in many forms, for me the 'match' is frequently struck within my soul by either a visual catalyst or something I hear someone say. If visually inspired, the outcome will usually be a poem or prose. If audibly inspired, my soul 'captures' the sound-bites and morphs them into an article or book idea.

We are complicated creatures, we mortals…one minute we can be lining up all our ducks up in a row (organizing our 'game plan'), and the next we’ll have our head filled with fragmented artistic meandering, with the words and images flitting around like a butterfly.

So when that inspiration hits, we run for our pen and paper or our recorders and slap it down like a fry cook flipping a line-up of pancakes. Bing—bang—boom, there it is 'recorded' and ready to be turned into masterful communication.

I personally LOVE that moment when inspiration visits me—it’s an exhilarating high, and I would even call it a moment of connecting with the Divine since it has that quality of 'I can’t put my finger on where this came from, because it seems like it didn’t actually come from within me.' I frequently experience that when I draw also. I’ll look at the picture after and think, 'I don’t really even completely remember drawing this…it’s like someone else did it.' Very ethereal stuff!

As for me (regarding my writing), one of my goals is to not only inspire people to find their personal splendor, but to encourage them to share it with liberty and liberality. After all, there is only ONE you, and just as you have a one-of-kind fingerprint, you also are the ONLY YOU there is…so we need your uniqueness and perspective. You fill up our gaps!

I don’t know about others, but frequently my flow gets stopped up if I give any thought at all to what the reader will think of my writing…I have to get back to that place of throwing caution-to-the-wind and “just write” what’s in my head and my heart.

You can not give any place to those apprehensive, self-conscious thoughts, because the fact is, people will always judge your writing…no matter what. So you have to take your inspiration and slap it down with a blatant courage—with the thought in mind: this is what I have to say, this is what I feel about it, this is my slant…take it or leave it. It takes bravery to put your personal splendor down through the written word, a cerebral courage, if you will.

Fear of failure or judgment can castrate the creative process. So whenever you hit that mental wall, you have to kick that sucker out in no uncertain terms—saying, 'hit the road dude! You are not welcome here!' You can’t be namby-pamby with those imprisoning thoughts, you have to be aggressive, because how on earth are you going to share your splendor if your mind is trapped? So every time you’re writing and you sense yourself 'cramping' with those little bugger-thoughts, TAKE ACTION and command them to leave! I guarantee you after about one month of doing this you will be more free in your writing approach, and it just might translate over into other areas of your life as well!

Now before I close I want to share a little (well, it’s actually not so little) poem with you—something that will stir you up to be courageous about revealing yourself—no matter what the cost.



The Exploration of You
You have within yourself talents that are still untapped—

Things that you haven’t permitted yourself to give expression to.

You are certain that there’s a world within you that’s unexplored territory—

Things that are lying 'below' and 'beneath,' but not beyond.

Things that you’ve perhaps reached towards a few times, but didn’t quite lay hold of.

You see, sometimes we have gifts that we’ve put to use a little, but not a lot.

So all we’ve done is expose our souls to a 'maybe;' not a 'for sure.'

But interests only become passions after exposure through time and experience!

Treasures are not found on short excursions—they require investment.

What lies within you can certainly be defined as treasure, but what are you willing to invest to find that 'thing that fulfills?'

Are you willing to risk? Are you willing to leap? Are you willing to try, fail, and try again?

Are you willing to feel certain one day and uncertain the next, and yet keep going?

Are you willing to accept your weaknesses, but not let them hold you back?

If yes, then life’s greatest adventure awaits you with open arms—the Exploration of YOU!

So go forth and excavate with perpetual patient persistence—for all of life’s riches are unearthed with these treasure tools!



Jean Dewitt is a poet, artist, songwriter, and blogger. She is bonkers about good biographies, persistent in her pursuit of learning French, and just plain weird when it comes to symmetry. She is a 'quiet' philanthropist (or 'good deed doer) according to the Wizard of Oz) who liked to make a difference in people’s lives. She enjoys too many things and wishes she could be more focused (suspicions of ADD have crossed her mind!) One of her dreams is to have a library just like Professor Henry Higgins (My Fair Lady)…ladder and all! Visit Jean's websites at http://gloryjean.com and http://artbywordsby.wordpress.com