The Writer's Heart
by Beth Mende Conny
The content of this article may be forwarded in full without special permission, provided it is used for nonprofit purposes and full attribution and copyright notice are given. For other purposes, contact Beth Mende Conny at Beth@WriteDirections.com.
Attribution: © 2002-2009 Beth Mende Conny. Beth Mende Conny is the founder of WriteDirections.com and the author of more than four dozen books and collections.
Do you have a heart? One of those trusty tickers folks carry around with them?
That heart got you here today, you know. To this site and article. It also got you up this morning, helped you wash and dress and head out the door. And that was just for starters.
The heart is an incredible piece of machinery, allowing you to do zillions of things. You couldn't live without it. What a shame then that you treat it so poorly.
You eat too much junk, lounge too long, stress out too often. Still, your forgiving heart pumps away, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for decades.
You can feel it working through exertion—when you go for a run, mow the lawn, carry heavy boxes up the stairs. You can also feel it when on those rare occasions, you allow yourself to become still. Its beat is soft, sweet, almost a whisper.
And then there is your other heart, your writer's heart. It, too, brought you here to this page. It, too, keeps you alive ... creatively.
When your fingers dash across the keyboard or you dash off to the library, it's there keeping pace. Through rain, sleet and snow, through fits and starts and fears of rejection, it gets you where you want to go as quickly as possible.
When in stillness you finally slow down and go within, its gentle beat becomes a primal drum. Its rhythm draws you in as the heavens part and the words flow.
You have a writer's heart. Treat it kindly, with respect. Acknowledge its existence.
Express your gratitude. Write.
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Beth Mende Conny is the founder and president of WriteDirections.com. She has published more than four dozen books and collections, and helps individuals and businesses bring their projects to publication. She can be contacted at Beth@WriteDirections.com.