Cherish This
Welcome to the Cherished Blogfest. The idea is to dish about something that you don’t just favor, but adore, relating all the delicious details and the reason for such unwavering dedication. The instructions were to talk about an object, something difficult for me because I tend to cherish intangibles over objects. Things like friendship, the view from my room, and living life on purpose come to mind. Also silence. When was the last time you had a silent moment where the only audible sound was that of your own beating heart? You probably don’t remember. Neither did I.
I adore writing, another intangible, but it’s not the end product I adore as much as the actual act of writing, pen to paper, thoughts flowing, sometimes pouring out, sometimes stuttering and slow, but always percolating. Writing rounds out my anima (as opposed to animus), Jung’s term for that part of my psyche that directs itself inward, and has daily conference calls with my subconscious, the place where we’re all connected. I like these calls. Getting to say “hey, hi, hello” to the subconscious feels a bit like hanging out at God’s favorite pub on a Friday afternoon. So much fun and the weekend has barely started!
Writing rejuvenates me, allowing me to puzzle out what I’m really thinking, and that, besides being a great and valued service, is way cheaper than therapy. Writing has been the easiest thing for me to do even when many other things seem difficult or insufficient — and then I hit on it, my most cherished, most desirable of darlings.
My pen.
My pen is a metaphor for anything allowing me to speak my mind through the written word (laptops count!). I’ve got dozens of pens and two or three very nice pens, Mont Blancs, I think. They sit in drawers, putting on airs of superiority and rarely get taken out for a spin because the maintenance on them (refills) is ridiculously cost preclusive. I mean, it’s a pen, not a Lamborghini, right? Plus I prefer the cheaper, super fine uni balls that roll across the page with ease and come in packs of twelve or eighteen.
My pen helps me live life on purpose, holds my hand while I get silent enough to hear what’s bubbling up in my anima, and allows me an inward view with an outward result so no one thinks I’m just wasting time daydreaming. I prefer a room with a view when hanging with my pen, anywhere in or around nature. Working with my pen is like reconnecting with friends you’ve known for thirty years. You can skip the explanations, the histories of how you came to be, and just be.
And I’ll leave you with this thought, on the wall of a historically certified printer’s shop in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania:
On the printed word
depends our entire system of
education, government, law,
and religion
An entire society, because of the pen.
p.j.lazos 7.24.15
Green Life Blue Water 
Hi there- I’ve been to that shop in Lancaster! Do you know who stated that quote? i would love to know
“On the printed word
depends our entire system of
education, government, law,
and religion”
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No, its “anonymous” and so true! I wonder, other than the Australian Aboriginal people, and maybe some indigenous populations in Mexico and Central America, are there any oral tradition cultures that still survive?
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Love the concept of this post. I once wrote an epic poem which included a part about my pen. Sadly, I don’t know where that poem is now.
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Perhaps with a little meditation you can bring it back. I wonder how Homer did it?
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Before I was desktop-laptop crazy, I was crazy about pens and I still collect some really good ones that offer me exceptional writing experience. Thank you for participating.
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Thank you! I hope to get to one of the destinations on your travel blog someday! I will definitely take my pen!
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Your object is the writing, the same as mine. Great post, the pen is always mightier than any weapon.
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Amen to that!
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My pen was one of the objects I wanted to write about, too.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and thanks for participating in the Cherished Blogfest.
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Great minds think alike! And thanks for the “cherished” idea. I was not able to visit everyone’s page, but decided, “what’s the rush”? I intend to eventually get to all of them over the next few weeks. I love the idea of expanding my writing community.
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The list will be up for the near future at least, that much I know.
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Excellent post and perfect Cherished item for a writer. I prefer paper and pen over the computer because of the tactiles you mention. My pen of choice is a simple Bic, but it works for me! Thanks for participating.
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Yeah, I think it doesn’t matter how we get there, but just that we get there!
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Your object is perfect, especially because I too adore writing. 😀
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Isn’t it just the bees knees? 🙂
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Yesss. XD
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For me it’s a pencil. I can write things down, add, subtract, doodle, and draw more deliberately. Erase the drawing, redraw, erase, redraw, and you get layers that add a depth that seems miraculous–just from a pencil. Everything involved in useing the pencil–the ritual–is special. Picking out a new pencil, smelling the cedar, sharpening it to a point, more cedar scent, dragging the point against paper, and the sound the pencil makes as it is being dragged. Every bit of it is wonderful. I think that for me–someone who has a hard time living in the moment–the act of drawing and all of the sensation that go with it is one of the few times when I am completely in the moment.
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I love the smell of the pencil as well! It reminds me of elementary school when things were so much easier!
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