I Love This Room

Sitting here at my desk I realize how much I will miss it when I move to Thailand. I’m situated between two sliding, glass doors which are open, and the breeze blowing through the room is simply delightful. My view is of our back yard, and the ambient mixture of birds chirping and leafs clapping gives an almost sublime sensation. This atmosphere, being mixed with the art of writing, leaves me feeling quite swell right now.

I’ve come to realize lately how much I love this; typing on my computer, laying my thoughts out for all the world to read. I can’t think of any earthly thing I’d rather be doing with my life right now than telling you about the room I’m in. Perhaps some people were cut out for that, just to tell their story in order to make everyone else’s lives a little more interesting. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have noticed the miracle that is this day had it not been for writers who have come before me, remarking on the beauty around them.

But I don’t think it takes a person with an extraordinarily interesting life to make a good writer. By most people’s standards my life might be quite boring. I think what makes a great writer is his ability to find the magic in the ordinary. Everything is magical; we just have to dig it out sometimes. Not that I’ve arrived; I’ve been shown the way just like every writer who’s come before me. Because the more we read great literature and the more we write the best literature we can, the easier it is for us to see that magic. We have to learn what it looks like, what it smells like, how it responds to stimuli. The magic is in all of us, everything. But just like any muscle, our “magic receptor” has to be exercised.

I’ve come to realize I love writing. Not because I’m a great writer, but because one day I will be. Because I find that the more I write, the more I can hear the magic in everyday things. The song of the cicada, the ticking of the clock … all of it is connected by the same magic, and it’s begging to be written about.

~Jonathan

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September 3rd, 2006 · Back to Top · Tagged: Blog, Writing

Comments (2)

  1. Esra'a

    “I think what makes a great writer is his ability to find the magic in the ordinary.”

    This is such a beautiful line. Just a day ago I was telling someone how we take the little things that make life amazing for granted. We never notice these things unless it’s too late. I don’t need a perfect life to be happy. I just need to learn how to appreciate the present, and what my life has to offer. Each one of us is living someone else’s dream - and if we can’t learn how to appreciate that, then there’s still a lot that we haven’t figured out about life.

    I found your site through wordpress support by the way. And I’m glad I did!

    Stay confident. Inspire others to write. You don’t have to excel at it - more often than not, it’s the ideas that count.

    On September 14th, 2006, at 6:09 pm

  2. Jonathan

    Esra’a, thank you so much for your kind words, and thank you for showing me Mideast Youth. I’ve spent hours on that site today! I especially enjoyed the Documentary on Sudan. I didn’t know what to say afterward; it touched me very deeply.

    PS: I hope the support I gave on the forum was useful! That is, if it was even me giving the answer. ;o)

    On September 14th, 2006, at 9:12 pm

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