Rediscovering Writing

I am a stationary addict. I have so many different kinds of notebooks, journals, pens and pencils that I wouldn’t be able to finish using all of them in this lifetime. However, that doesn’t stop me from buying more. Every time I see a beautiful and unique notebook, I almost know what I am going to write on it. The reality however is more accumulated new notebooks at my home. Why don’t I use them? Well, whenever I write, I either write on my computer or my laptop and sometimes even on my mobile phone.

But, yes, I love to write. Couple of years back, I joined a non-profit organization and I got deeply involved with it; so much that it almost became a part of my everyday life. During the monthly meetings I had to take note literally with a pen and paper. That perhaps was the first time I wrote with a pen in many years. Of course, signing on the dotted lines of visa applications doesn’t count. During a few such meetings, I realised how out of touch I was from writing with a pen. I was so out of touch that my wrist started to pain. The handwriting was a mess too. That was the time when I decided to revive my handwriting and restart writing with pens. The bonus was, I would get to use my notebooks and pens that I collected for years. 

I started with writing my nightly gratitude journals. Earlier I used to write it on my mobile phone. At the completion of one notebook of nightly writing and practicing, I decided to take it up a notch. I always enjoyed decorating my notebooks with drawings of flowers, butterflies and small drawings ever since I was a student. Even though I am not an artist, I enjoyed doing it for myself. I always had sketch pens to help me make my notebooks more colourful. This time, I decided to learn how to draw. So, I enrolled in a drawing class. Yes, I know what must be thinking. You are not alone. Everyone at home thought I was crazy and I did not need that class. But I enrolled anyway.

Days went by and I learnt a lot during this time about drawing. My father taught me a beautiful and fascinating way to write alphabets that looked like 3D letters. I loved, treasured and used that technique all my life, especially when I had to write something prominent. Like my name on a freshly jacketed book. That must have been the time when my fascination for calligraphy started. However, as I was always told by my mother that my handwriting was not as good as my brother’s, I did not dare to even experiment any other way of writing. I now, wanted to undo that “conditioning” (more about “unconditioning” later). Now I wanted to learn how to write well and differently (I believe it is never too late to learn something new). A new quest began. I started looking for a class that taught calligraphy. However, due to my frequent travels, I was unable to decide when and where I will be attending a calligraphy class. A few months later, I decided to enroll in the only calligraphy class available in my hometown.

Immediately after that I went to Singapore. I was there for a few days and went to my favourite stationary shop. And to my surprise, I found a calligraphy pen there, which was just right for me. Oh! It was one of the most serendipitous moments of my life! I bought the pen with enough extra cartridges for a lifetime of calligraphy. I came home and wrote on every possible book covers that could accommodate my name in that beautiful font. It was like rediscovering writing itself!

I no longer fight against my wishes. I just do as per my calling. I realized that if I just do the things that make me happy every moment, that itself would be enough to make my entire life happy. After all, life is an accumulation of moments. The quest of every individual should be to make their moments happy.

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