Against the ruin
of the world
there is only one defense —
the creative act.
—Kenneth Rexroth
We writers don’t need the world to ruin us. We manage to annihilate our writing by our own hands. Our fear wears a dozen masks. When we have the courage to take off the masks one by one, we find that each of them hide the same fear.
Take off the mask of busy busy, we find emptiness. Take off the mask of getting everything right, we find emptiness. Take off the mask of falling in love again and again – emptiness. The masks of addiction to alcohol, drugs, food, work, controlling others, money, safety, fear of the future hide emptiness. And, in our modern societies, emptiness is terrifying. Emptiness is ruin.
You know the masks you wear better than any guru or therapist does. Put on one of the masks. Set your timer for thirty minutes. Begin with this prompt and write without stopping: I am the mask. I will not write. Please send for publication to Breakthrough Writing. We are medicine for each other.
Share on Your Social Media
