Write. That’s the keyword.
This article, while written by and for silver streakers, also holds value for youth (I think). Our generation is tentative in assuming truths.
With phones in our hands and the constant hum of TV in the background, the never-ending stream of WhatsApp messages, how we have forgotten the art and joy of writing!
Every person who loves reading wants to become a writer/
author, sometime. I know I do. But then the time never comes. And then one is
subjected to copycat AI-generated writings daily, which becomes the norm.
Finally, one forgets to hold a thought not shaped by others.
Are we letting our digits (as in fingers) go ineffectual by not using them to hold a pen or tap on words? Because “not” writing is easy? And the most important reason of all, the doubts – can I write at this age, and who will read my writing?
I dug a little into famous or beloved writers across ages. Remember the beautiful classic Black Beauty? Who hasn’t fallen in love with horses after that book? Anna Sewell was 57 when the book was published. She had a story to tell from her heart (her only book), and she wrote it.
Why Do I Need to Write
It is proven by multiple studies that writing improves
cognitive function, memory, and attention span. And those are the areas the silver
streakers are struggling with: attention span diluted by endless scrolling,
memory fogged by lack of activity and declining cognitive function brought on
by loneliness or illness.
Even though the keyboard is everyone’s best friend, handwriting takes writing to another dimension as it activates a broader network of brain cells. However, when one starts to write by hand, the shaky, barely
legible words make one give up the exercise before it even starts!
If there was a choice to remain agile in mind, imagination, and memory with just a little effort, wouldn’t one want to do that? Reduced neural plasticity is a term I came across frequently while researching how our lack of writing affects us. It’s a simple translation. Like your joints and muscles, which become stiff due to lack of use, the nerves, the cells that carry messages to and from the brain, become stiff or lose plasticity with age and lack of use. So, writing comes with the added benefit of improving neural plasticity or keeping our brains agile.
How Do I Start?
So, one can’t become a full-fledged writer overnight. But
one can write a few lines, maybe a shloka, a verse, a favourite poem. Or the
day’s events, the old-fashioned art of journalling. Thoughts flow when one
stops looking at the screen. Random thoughts, Thoughts, ideas, cumulated over
years of experience, life. Just imagine how many stories there would be to tell
of life.
It is even more important to pen them down before AI takes
over and makes our minds really numb. Just as we can’t find a place without
google maps, very soon we can’t pen a thought unless it is suggested and framed
by AI. All of us see it happening. And it will lead to faster and surer
deterioration of our mental faculties.
So why not just pick up a pen, block out the noise, scribble
a few words, daily? Small steps. Atomic habits. And then have the final laugh.
For the older generation needs to remain mentally fit and
fine. The youth need guidance and the use of our wisdom, even though they don’t
realise it and snicker at our stumbling speech and thoughts.
Age and Writing
Age is just a number. How many times have we heard this? Well, it is true. It is a big number of cumulative experiences, wisdom, and knowledge. So, when one is made to feel lesser or when the kids get impatient, condescending or laugh behind their hands when you forget something, one just needs to remember that age knows better. So WRITE down those big numbers of experiences and people and places and show them! After all, who would know Shakespeare or understand that age if he (or someone) hadn't written!
PS – Ruskin Bond published his autobiography “Lone Fox Dancing” at the age of 83, in 2017. Now at 91 years, he still writes daily.
Sanghamitra
