Expressions

OK. So, I am finally writing. And, here is where I begin. Apart from writing essays in school, I haven't ever written without being told to. Writing was never my form of expression. To me, it has always been a tool of communication and an art to admire, but I never imagined myself writing something spontaneously or after careful planning, and open to every one's scrutiny.

Let me give you a background to this whole writing business. Many of my close friends maintain blogs. I used to find this practice queer! Not just one or two, but a whole bunch of them wrote. Did everybody have the flair for writing? Did they enjoy it as an experience? And I used to wonder how they wrote such long pieces with so much patience. And, I never thought of expression as important for one’s well. To top it all, my friends used to send me tiresome mails and reminders urging me to read their updated blogs AND comment on them! So, this set me thinking. Why was it that almost everybody wrote and not I?

First of all, I was not very amiable to the idea of my writings being open to all under scrutiny. Secondly, I felt pressurized to write, peer pressure, and wanted to resist writing. Finally, I realized that writing is a form of expression, like many others. I don’t want to call it an art, because I’m really not sure what the meaning of “art” is. But yes, music, painting, dance (I shall delve into this more deeply), drama, cinema, photography and a countless other unnamed actions are forms of expression.

I had never liked the idea of expression. I am a sort of closed person, one would say. Not wanting to impose my ideas on others, not having my ideas ridiculed, not daring to expose my feelings, etc. Expression does two things – it purges emotions, experiences, etc. and it contributes to the whole world in general by sharing. I used to be scared because what I might have to say may turn out to be wrong and might evoke ill feelings from others. But then, I began to realize that we are all human beings and live in an interconnected world. Everything affects everybody and nobody is solely responsible for any occurrence. There is no such thing as right or wrong in this world. Truth is relative – to the mindset, to the frame and to the context. Nothing I can say will affect the world around so much. And that remaining silent can cause more damage than being expressive. As long as things can be forgiven, nothing can really go wrong with the world! Expression is not a problem anymore. In fact, expressions make the world more lively and enjoyable, from the basic colours of flowers (gene expression!) to the most sophisticated forms of art. Without stimulus, there is no dynamism, no joy. Where there is expression, there is experience also. And what I experience today at this moment, I will never experience again. What I do may spark a thought or suppress an idea but I shall believe God’s in his heaven and everything is right with the world. Expressions are what make the world beautiful again and again, no matter how many times before you have marvelled at it!