Unfortunately, I was not very vocal or expressive, when I was young. So, there’s a lot of things that I could’ve & should’ve shared with others, that are now lost in time, because I chose not to preserve them literarily. However, after I became a Muslim, and especially within this past decade, I’ve developed the courage, creativity, want, and will to write.
There are so many benefits about writing, not just poems, or novels, or even short stories. It’s just the fact that writing allows me the ability to express myself freely and, the ability to transfer my thoughts & feelings from pen to paper. And, the best thing about that is when you do write, you release stress, you get an opportunity to let out negative energy in a positive & productive way. You also get to challenge the extent of your own intelligence & imagination.
Aside from even those things, which are valid, generally, for myself, writing allows me to explore myself, to dig up old thoughts & feelings that I’ve buried for about ten to twenty years, and am finally willing & able to mentally & emotionally unearth those things. It’s actually very scary, because there are some things, within all Human beings, that we would rather leave dead & buried. But, then, if you don’t let those things go, through letting them out through some type of channel, they can and will consume you eventually.
Honestly, I find that writing is a great form of self-therapy. I get the chance to reflect upon my own flaws & ills, I get to self-examine my own problems, and I get to learn more about myself, as a Muslim, as a Man, and as a Human.
Gareth Bryant 