How can we speak our minds about the most important subjects affecting our world today? People seem to get offended by everything, everyone’s statements need to be politically correct. If you don’t agree with the majority then there’s something wrong with you, or you’re branded an enemy of society, of freedom, of equality. Sometimes we’re afraid to really get down to business, so we write about trivial things that barely matter in real life. We all look for distractions to help us escape the harsh reality of life on this planet, but should writers write in order to provide that distraction, or rather to wake their readers up and alert them that they better leave the distractions alone and see what’s really going on before it’s too late? Is it a writer’s responsibility to bring awareness to the issues that are affecting his world? I don’t necessarily think so. Everyone is free to choose what they really want from their life or career, and if people want to get lost in a book about distractions then there should be writers to provide them. Distractions will always be a necessity for people, to avoid facing the truth about certain issues, both in our personal lives and in our world as a whole. Writing, being a creative activity, can be used for many different things. A writer isn’t obligated to write about current events and problems, or about what we can do, or should do, to solve them, but even if we aren’t obligated to write about these things, we would really be elevating our art if we choose to do so. We shouldn’t do it in a cynical manner, or in a negative or offensive way, we should simply state the facts and offer a solution when one seems possible. Bringing awareness to only problems is doing nothing but making people angry, creating distrust among all people, tension and more disagreement. If we can offer a solution however, then we are really in a position to make big changes happen in society, if not now then maybe in the long run, at some point in the future. We can all do great things during our lifetime, yet we don’t all make the right decisions in order to make wonderful changes happen. Something we are all able to do though, at any point, is to write down our noblest thoughts and to share them with others. Ideas that are truly godly have a way of enduring, their very truth ensures that they will be passed on from generation to generation, and that they may even inspire entire movements of people to create organizations and institutions. Even if we don’t see things change much during our own lifetimes, the words we write down are able to transcend time and to create a real revolution in the future. We don’t need to be masters of the English language in order to get some ideas down on paper, or on a computer, or even on a cell phone. I bet that so many authors from the past had no clue that their work would still be studied today by thousands of people, even thousands of years after they wrote them. Marcus Aurelius’s ‘Meditations’, for example, was simply a collection of personal notes he had written to himself. These words were then found and published, and we have access to various different translations of them today. I myself have been inspired by so many ancient texts, and it’s incredible to think that there is real understanding between myself and someone who lived thousands of years before me, in a different culture at a different time in history, under much different conditions than my own. This shows me that truth and reason will never die, that the same truths that the ancients were well aware of are perceptible to us even today, and that it can and should be transmitted to the people of tomorrow, so that they may recognize truth as well when they read it, thereby becoming inspired to find the truth within themselves. The sayings of Buddha are so similar to those of Jesus, who lived about six hundred years earlier, and many of the great Greek philosophers wrote great passages which help us comprehend much of the philosophy we know today. Wisdom from the past has been essential to keeping truth alive in the hearts of many people, even in our modern day society which makes it so hard to connect with truth. We as writers have the power to inspire generations even thousands of years after we die. If we get no recognition for our great work during our earthly life then so be it, at least we will create a better world for the people of the future. We should let go of our attachment to the fruits of labor anyway and practice Karma Yoga, consecrating all our work, our writing, to God, to the greatest power in the universe, the source of it all. We can never go wrong when we do this, and understanding that we are working for the Supreme Being, we automatically feel the responsibility to convey truth in our work in any way we can. We know that words truly can create life or death, and we understand that the decision is ours. We have to remain rooted in that power which we write for, we need to disconnect from the fears and doubts of our petty personality, and we need to write what needs to be written, we need to speak what needs to be spoken. Truth is essential to life, for life without truth cannot truly be called life, it is the worse kind of death there can be, spiritual death. So I urge all of you writers, write about what you find interesting, about what you love, but always be on the look-out for ways in which you can incorporate truth into your material. Think of the thoughts that your words may conjure up in people’s minds, are they thoughts of life, or of death, of love or of hate, will they help to rebuild our planet, or are they words of destruction? The ability to write and effectively convey ideas is a divine gift, don’t waste it, use it to your maximum potential.
To be continued tomorrow, on Day 34.
~ Rebel Spirit
rebel eye 