The Beauty and Life Lessons from Writing in Ink
Hint, pencils erase part of the story
I used to throw an entire sheet of paper away when I made one small mistake, even if it was in the very beginning.
When is the last time you’ve handwritten something in ink more than your signature?
Did you mess up anywhere? What did you do with the paper you messed up? Did you keep it and try to cover it up with some form of white-out? Perhaps you covered it up by throwing the paper away and started a new one. I’m only curious, no judgment. That was more for you to reflect on for yourself.
In the past, the sight of the flaws I made was too unsettling for me. So much so that I wrote in pencil more often than not because, well, I could erase the past and pretend it didn’t happen. (Despite the fact that I’m left-handed, which meant some smearing and grey hands haha).
One evening I was writing my daily reflections and noticed I stopped trying to be perfect. I scratched through or scribbled over my mistakes. I wasn’t frustrated or embarrassed that I was making the mistakes. As I noticed that, life lessons came to mind so fast I stopped what I was journaling about and scribble these down.
Life Lessons from Writing in Ink instead of Pencil
- An erased mistake is still visible to you. Much like erasing pencil or erasable ink, you can still see some remnants of what was there before. As such, attempting to erase a mistake or any type of unpleasant event from your life doesn’t make it go away. The best thing is to acknowledge, accept, and keep moving forward.
- Scribbling over something you misspelled shows your process of growth. You see a messy paper, I see the honing and implementation of thoughts. (I used to see a messy paper).
This concept has come to me twice, and one of those times, I decided to write a poem. It speaks to why I say it’s important to write in ink.
My goal for this article is to reiterate or remind you that you are not flawed beyond repair. Improving who you are, comes best from a place of accepting what is. That is how you will be able to make objective decisions designed to move you towards becoming who you aspire to be.
Keep writing in ink my friend. Let the “flaws” teach and guide you. Don’t let them define you. You’ve got this!
