Writing and the Pursuit of Selflessness or Less Selfishness

The purpose of this post is to have none. I’m an English student. Not a student from England but a student of the language. There is an innate obsession with articulating with precision the mangled mess that thoughts and even ideas are. So here I am beginning my medium journey with a purposeless post that wets your appetite with more where this humor comes from.

Why do we write? Or better yet why do I write? Why SHOULD I write? I struggle with this question and I think a big part of why is my selfish nature. Good to me is what is good for me not anyone else. Good isn’t serving others, that is work. Good isn’t putting the needs of others before mine, that is well, stupidity. Good isn’t connecting with the needs of others and redirecting, maybe even coalescing them into a coherent shared whole. NO! That is not good!

Good is how actions and thoughts make me feel. It’s sad to admit that as wildly selfish as that last statement is. It is an accurate depiction of the lens I process life with. So now I leave you to interpolate and answer why SHOULD I write?

Writing is a form of communication. Communication is a process of transferring ideas, thoughts and other forms of information from one person to the other or to many others. If this doesn’t fit Webster’s lingo then work with it as my definition. By this definition, the very purpose of writing ought to be to transfer something.

So how can I transfer information to other people if I do not choose to understand how to connect with them? You see, an email is a draft until there is an internet connection. An electric kettle is an idle vessel until the socket/outlet releases energy. A girl is another human until a date reveals mutual interests.

Connection! That is the key word. The operative word. Unless my goal is to communicate precisely to myself, a message from myself. Then I must change my definition of good. Writing then becomes a vehicle to be more selfless or less selfish. You choose. To get better is to serve better; to serve better is to be better.

It’s easy and lazy to say that I write only merely to articulate and precisely capture my ideas, thoughts and messages when by learning to connect; by learning what connects; by learning how to connect with people, I can transfer inspiration, emotions, and well, messages.

Medium is my restaurant for the date. She is the electric company’s infrastructure to provide electricity to the kettle. She is the internet provider for my email draft. I still must do the work to serve. So that when my words are delivered, they bring with them messages that enrich lives.

Let’s begin this journey together! If you are like me or your definition of good is just like mine. I’d like to hear from you in the comments. Maybe we can go on a journey together to change good to a more selfless or a less selfish definition. If on the other end you cringed through this post. Welcome, when I envision my tribe, I envision people that value vulnerable ugly and unrefined perspectives. You made it through, you can change your appetite :)