The Freedom to Write
One of my pet peeves with this blog is never setting down a time to write.
I only ever manage to write things on a whim.
Typically I find myself writing in the morning while drinking coffee.
But I make no apology for that.
On occassion, I will write around about mid evening after I've already downed a measure of something (usually gin or whisky).
Having the freedom to write on this platform has allowed me to explore something I have wanted to do for some time.
It is most unfortunate that I didn't start sooner.
But, regrets are as dangerous as fantasies in my view given they are cut from the same branch. That branch I speak of is from the tree of “what could’ve been”
John Greenleaf Whittier put it best when he said:
“For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been”
The origin of this quote is from the short story Maud Muller. The tale is of an unlikely meeting between two would-be lovers. It's reminiscent of Chekhov's About Love trilogy. Of course, I don't quote this because of an unlikely meeting I have had with a would-be lover. Far from it in fact. I just quite like the sentiment it conveys. I guess it's just another way to convey the sadness one feels over regrets. I don't exactly regret not starting this blog earlier. The truth is that I regret other things in life. But they are the subject of future posts. Maybe even those regrets are why I started this blog after all? I just didn't know it at the time.
The freedom to write is something I enjoy. It's a reflective exercise that frees my spirit and mind. I consider it an art form of its own I guess. I do not feel the need to optimise the skillet I have to make money, or to gain instant noteriety. I claim my right to write when and what I want for its own sake.
This freedom to write is something Orwell touched on in his Why I Write.
This freedom I have is not something I wish to spoil. Nor is it something I wish to abuse.
I will write when I feel I have to. I make no apology for that.
Thank you for your time.
PL