Reflection #6 – Importance of Writing

Just like the Egyptians believed to achieve immortality your name must be inscribed somewhere your name must been written to be remembered. If you are never know on paper you never existed. In most obituaries there is a list of people who knew the deceased. When all those people are deceased as well who then will be left behind to remember them. That is where the importance of writing comes in. We write things down that we think are important. These things are so important that we don’t want to forget them. Our human brains can hold only so much and even if it could hold more we would only lose once we died. Word of mouth is nice however, it leads to variation. Often telling a story to one person will lead to that person telling the same story with completely different facts. Writing allows us to know exactly who, what, when, where, and how every time exactly how the author wrote it. Writing also allows us to pass on valuable information to the next generation. A recipe for medicine that can cure thousands will need to be followed to the letter. Using memory alone is not a very good way to safe guard this information. There is also a mastery of skills when you can study information pertaining to a certain field. You cannot become a master of all history without studying it; there is history from too many cultures. Without the written history you will never succeed in this as the history of all cultures would not be available to you. Writing fosters creativity and joy. A story written hundreds of years ago still captivates and entertains so many today because of its creative properties. These stories where not perfected in one try but were honed by many rough drafts. Writing also utilizes the brain in a way nothing else can. Reading use to be a skill that was highly coveted as those who knew how to read held a power over those who could not. With knowledge comes power and holding power in your hand in the form of books is very valuable.