This past weekend I had the privilege of attending a
mini-retreat at my parish on “Serving with Joy,” led by Father Don Wester.
In
addition to being pastor of
All Saints, Father Wester teaches homiletics (aka
the art of preaching) and was one of nine American religious leaders recently
interviewed by Time Magazine online in the aftermath of the terror attack at
the Boston Marathon. You can read his comments on preaching about hope
amid disaster
here.
While the
retreat lasted only a few hours, one thing Father stressed that stuck with me
was: “Don’t let the simplicity of this day diminish the importance of it.”
Much of
what was shared during the retreat about serving with joy also applies to writing with joy.
Some of
the most memorable and moving words in history are simple and concise, yet
powerful. “Let them eat cake.” “Jesus wept.” Blaise Pascal’s famous quote,
which is often attributed to others: “I would’ve written a shorter letter if I
had more time.” One slim and simple, yet indispensable, book on writing advice
is Elements of Style by Strunk and
White.
During the
retreat we were reminded that we are the custodians of our own joy. As writers,
we are custodians of our words.
We were
asked to reflect on what robs us of joy. As writers, criticism, self-doubt, and
worry about what others might think about what we write can rob us of the joy of writing.
Other
reflections that hit close to home are “we learn something from our suffering.
Compassion comes from our deepest suffering, and joy takes the shape of
compassion.” We’ve heard stories about how writers suffer for their art. While
that may be true for some, I believe that as writers we learn a great deal about
ourselves through our writing.
We were
reminded that we are God’s masterpiece, his work of art. As writers, we create
our own masterpieces with our words.
Although my family and friends give me the most joy in my life, when I was asked during the retreat what gives me joy, I mentioned my writing.
At the
conclusion of the retreat, Father read to us Philippians 4:4-9. What touched me from that passage is: “. . . Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to
everyone. . . Do not worry about anything . . . Keep on doing things that you
have learned and received and heard and seen in me . . .”
I plan to
keep writing and try not to worry about my own self-doubts or the criticism of
others. In essence I hope to capture the joy that writing gives to me by sharing
that joy with others through my words.
How about
you? How do you find joy in your writing?