Abstract, Real

[lilithsaintcrow]

I am teaching my son to read, from the same book I taught my daughter to read from. It’s amazing to watch the decoding skills strengthen, to see him making the connections.

I forget, because I’ve been doing it so long, that reading is not necessarily a “natural” skill, and neither is writing. It takes hard work and rewiring the brain a little to learn, and then lots of practice. Certainly it feels natural at this point, but so does riding a bicycle or driving a car.

I’m kind of wondering what will feel natural in another ten years.

For me, the act of writing is a magical one. It is transmuting the world, making sense of things. So much of the world seems senseless and inimical some days; putting a screen over it that makes things make sense is one of the great strengths of the human brain. I have always said the act of creation is transforming the world in some way, and that it’s crucial.

I’ve been reading a lot lately about how language is a virus, how the naming of the thing isn’t the thing itself, and how the abstract of reading/language shuts out direct experience. I am not sure I entirely agree–the act of reading is, for me, a very direct experience. There is a balance between that and the experience Out Here In Meatspace, if you’ll pardon the term. Both are wheels to balance on.

So, in lieu of an actual writing post, I’m actually just a little philosophical this morning. I’m thinking about how I derive so much genuine pleasure and comfort from this abstract thing that is, according to so many people, utterly divorced from “real” experience. I’m depending on writing to help me through a lot these days, from a broken heart to the mechanics of living day to day. It’s never let me down. Still, I examine the underpinnings and the mechanics, because I can’t help myself. I need to know it’s always going to be there.

The answer is always the same: as long as my commitment is there, so are the words. I am the necessary component.

It’s nice to feel necessary.

So, dear fellow wordsmiths: what is writing to you? Do you think it detracts from “experience of the real”? Weigh in, give me your .02. I’m listening.

And that’s another skill, too. *makes funny face*

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