Reading | The Practice of Writing the Truth
The Practice of Writing the Truth: A Writing Technique to Connect with Others Using "My Own Words"
Author: Ran Domon
I have encountered the book I needed right now.
As I read on, there were too many words I wanted to jot down in my notebook, so I stopped and took notes many times while reading.
Stopping again and again and again...
...Okay, I give up! I surrender!
I have to buy this myself and draw lines directly in the book.
And I want to keep it on my bookshelf at home and read it over and over again.
Things that were inside me but couldn't be put into words, things that were vague, have now been articulated.
I felt that because I have started to change, a book that resonates with this changed self and matches my frequency has come into my hands. (Is this expression a bit spiritual?)
After all, this is a book I wouldn't have chosen a little while ago.
Even if I had read it, I don't think it would have clicked or I would have understood it.
The content is about writing techniques, but it touches on more essential and core important matters.
While reading, I felt like I was talking to a psychiatrist.
The writing has a detached impression, but I felt that the author is a person with love.
It's not an expression that feels easy to understand, kind, or soft, but I felt that it was written about self-acceptance in a detached manner.
And I thought she was a person with a flat heart who doesn't judge things as good or bad.
The author, Ms. Domon, says something like, "If the total amount of everything I've written so far is 100, 80 of it has never seen the light of day and has never been read by anyone."
"Writing 'things not meant for anyone to read' is like the work of cleaning the water channels. If you don't drain it out roughly once a day, trash and fallen leaves will clog it, the flow will worsen, and the water will become murky or blocked. Words are the same. Inside a person, there is a waterway through which words pass. 'The truth' wells up from that waterway. If you don't keep it clean, no matter how much 'the truth' wells up from the source, the passage will be poor and it won't come out. Not only that, but the murky water will flow and solidify, capping the source. As a result, 'the truth' will stop coming out from within. Daily drainage work to keep the word waterway as clean as possible. That is the meaning of writing 'things not meant for anyone to read,' and I realized after becoming independent that if I don't do that, I will soon become unable to write. That's why I make sure to write 'things not meant for anyone to read' every night to reset the waterway before I go to sleep."
I understand this feeling.
It might be a little different, but I think I understand.
For me, this 'writing not meant for anyone to read' applies to writing in a notebook by hand. The sensation is close to cleaning or detoxing the heart.
If I don't write even a little bit every day, the thoughts and emotions that well up daily will accumulate without being processed, rot, and stagnate.
I lose track of my true feelings.
I want to spend my time feeling refreshed, clear, and comfortable, so I have the feeling that I am doing a detox maintenance every day for that purpose. Like brushing my teeth, it's important to do it daily.
It's very strange, but when I get carried away and skip it, thinking, 'I've been doing well lately, so maybe I don't need to write,' physical and mental malaise gradually starts to appear.
There are times when I think, 'I'm such a troublesome person,' but I've resigned myself to the fact that this is necessary for me to live, and I've squeezed it into my daily routine.
A routine necessary for my delicate self to live in society.
I want you to teach me someday, too.
These words appeared many times.
Somehow, despite feeling intimidated, I felt like I could meet the author someday.
I felt as if they were speaking to me, and to the reader, on a level playing field.
In other words, "writing" is "questioning."
It is to keep asking yourself, "What kind of person are you?"
What are you thinking right now? What are you feeling right now?
Why is that? Since when?
What do you intend to do from here on?
If you don't know yourself, if you don't understand yourself, you surely cannot write the truth.
If you ask yourself questions and then judge the answers as good or bad, the flow stops right there.
When judgment enters, such as "I shouldn't think this" or "This way of thinking is no good," your inner self will say, "Oh, I see! You won't listen to me? Fine, forget it!" and it will stop speaking honestly.
After all, if you are going to be judged even when you answer honestly, you won't want to tell the truth anymore. Your relationship of trust with yourself will gradually crumble. You will stop believing in yourself and lose confidence.
It can be honestly scary to look at what comes out. You don't have to accept it immediately on the spot. You don't have to try to solve it right away. When it's scary, just say, "Thank you for coming out," and leave it there for a while.
Someday, a time will come when you can face it without being as afraid as you are now, so there is no need to rush. It's okay. Waiting for that timing to arrive is also a form of love.
That attitude leads to trust in yourself. Slowly and steadily, the relationship of trust will deepen. It will start to tell you all sorts of things, saying, "So you really do listen to what I have to say."
That is how I want to write the "truth," by questioning myself and deepening that relationship of trust.
I am happy to have encountered a book that resonates with me.
I borrowed this from the library this time, but it is a book I want to purchase and welcome onto my bookshelf.
To you who have read this far, thank you very much.