I came across this post on X [x.com/anishmoonka/status/2052100333397254337] talking about the effects of writing about your worst memory (or something that is bothering you) for 15 minutes a day—how it actually improved the immune system of practitioners in various studies. How, specifically hand-writing (as opposed to typing), activates parts of the brain associated movement and memory in a pattern associated with learning.

As much as I do enjoy the flexibility of typing, I have to admit there is something special about physically handwriting which I don’t experience while typing (I say as I type this). I’ve always valued keeping physical journals partially even just as a space for myself away from digital spaces, but this X post inspires me to indulge in handwriting more consistently.

I find this quite inspiring as a studied example of a key aspect of “visceral eloquence”: the effects of sincere expression… there is something powerful about the process of articulating your experience. Inversely, the restriction of not expressing such things or not knowing how to can be detrimental. Not just in missed opportunities or social relationships… but even physical illness. Ignorance may seem like bliss at times, but I know no greater suffering than from that which I can’t clearly identify and communicate.

I’m reminded of the inherent value of creative expression, in contrast to the consumption of its byproducts, which is often seen as the value. That’s what artists tend to get paid for and what the public interacts with after all… But the inherent value of creating is personal development—growth, healing, learning… This is what anything which skips participation in the process simply does not replace.

I paint because I like the way it feels, I enjoy the exploration of blending various colors together, there’s all sorts of little lessons I find in the process such as how to navigate unintended or unexpected occurrences, it helps me wrestle with executive dysfunction and zone out thinking about all sorts of unrelated things.

Each medium I explore is a practice in developing sense: music creation practices learning what I’m actually hearing, painting practices learning what I’m really seeing, cooking practices learning what I am tasting, exercise practices feeling this body and inhabiting it intimately, writing practices lucidity of thought…