Dance, Music, and Physical Exercise: The Spontaneous Ritual Performance

Profound Truths: My Writing Style

Every time we eat food we are eating the sun. Directly or indirectly.

This is an indirect truth, a counterintuitive truth.

All truths are equally true but not all truths are profound. Truths which are profoundly true are cloaked in mystery and are mystical, almost whimsical. Like a comedian making people laugh with an uncomfortably true social commentary.

The difference is in the style of delivery. I find that to me truth is smoother and more profound when I sit down and write. Because when I sit down and write every word that appears on the screen or the piece of paper is carefully chosen. The method makes it smooth and profound. Speaking it without writing down robs the truth its smoothness and profoundness. Though I sometimes practise speaking truth without writing because it has its own surprising charm and magic. It too is an artform by itself.

I consider my writing an art. I have the gift of describing truth with words. I know people who do the same with a guitar and some singing. Others do it with paints and canvas, others do it with acting, directing. We all do it in one way or another. A teacher does it by issuing instructions, guiding, knowing what the learner doesn’t know but needs to and how to bridge that gap. An accountant encounters truth in the numbers. A doctor finds the truth hidden within the symptoms. That’s how I see it as a writer at least. I could be wrong but I think not.

So as a writer how do I find my truth? I immerse myself in the minds, bodies, and souls of the people and the things I write about. If I am writing about a bird I put myself in the bird’s feathers, nest, and aerial domain. It is a fun and intellectually stimulating exercise. When I’m writing about a place like Kericho I imagine the soul of a place; the dominant smell in the air, the terrain, the climate, the vibe, the natural sounds that make for ambient noise… for a time I become a bird, for a time I become Kericho.

When writing my imagination runs wild. The words that appear are not tame, but they occasionally surprise me because somehow a structure emerges. Out of chaos, emerges order. The title is the last thing I usually write. This relationship between lack of control and gain of control is what makes my writing profound. On the no-man’s-land between order & chaos is where discovery is nurtured, truth encountered. How I write is a contradiction. Maybe that’s why I love paradoxes so much. Maybe paradoxes can shed some light on the nature of Truth. But that is a Truth for another writing.

If I go some weeks without writing I am robbing myself, and my readers this encounter with mystical, whimsical, yet profound truths. My style is short bursts of writing time followed by long periods of non-writing. When I really want to do some profound writing, I do everything but force it. If I force it I can still write but I do not enjoy it as much. This piece of writing has been  done in 30 minutes after about a week of non-writing. I could go into what I mean by non-writing in my next piece because currently I am not sure what it is.