Jeff, this is terrific! You took me trekking in Nepal by way of your essay, in an essay about essays and Nepal. Not just a tongue-twister, and no small feat. Plus, I wasn't oxygen-deprived! I gather many nuggets that will help me in my own writing. Thank you. - James
Thanks James, appreciate your reading this and kind words. Based on where you live, I'm betting you have some epic trails not far too far from you. Happy trekking!
Wow, Jeff. I feel inspired to create, whiling trekking on building & healing self after reading your piece! In this past week, writing felt like a hard journey but rewarding. Really looking forward to what comes next in your column!
This is one of my favorite essays of yours Jeff. I resonate deeply with it. I especially loved, "And when I finish an essay, or a trek, I am never the same person." This to me is one of the best arguments for human writing over AI. AI is not transformed by the process of writing and when we lean on it we short-circuit the process of our collective evolution via word hiking.
I love your thoughts about writing, Jeff. I resonate with writing being a form of narrative therapy.
When I started writing, it felt painful because I was doing it for external metrics (likes, subscribers, possible revenue in the future). But recently, I've been using writing to solve my own problems. To know more about myself. To understand what I truly feel and why I feel that way. To create a micro-transformation within myself every single week.
Writing has never felt more important to me ever since I made that shift.
I love the transformation of motivations, from external to internal, that you described, Linart. I try to do the same myself, though I do still struggle with my neediness for external validation. Your sentence "creating a micro-transformation within myself every single week" is so well-put. It brilliantly captures the spirit of what I was trying to get across in this essay. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Jeff. If you ever write about how you're dealing with wanting external validation, I'd love to give it a read as someone going through it as well.
I loved this essay Jeff! As someone who hikes, backpacks, and writes this is an excellent analogy. I hadn't thought of it like this until you wrote this essay but now I find myself thinking, how did I not see this before?! Awesome, perspective!
Thanks, as ever, for your transformational, right-brain feedback. It's all about editing... editing... editing.... [insert picture of me on a hamster wheel waving at you]
I've never written an essay. I've never trekked in Nepal. But I know that a stew of tumbling thoughts can be and has to be straightened out by writing them down. First, by just jotting down whatever points pop up first. Then by identifying what's most important and the proper sequence of the subsequent ideas. Upon completion, I never realized that my sense of accomplishment was as good as a Himalayan High! BTW Jeff, I didn't understand this sentence from paragraph #9: This also is similar to treks, when process how we tell the story of them and where we find meaning in them. I get the gist of it but not reading it.
Thanks for the feedback, John. I am pro-jotting! You're correct that that sentence isn't clear. I took a shot at editing that sentence. Can you read it and tell me if it's more clear now?
Oh Jeff, so beautifully described. I'm loving this metaphor as I hack away at the judgment thickets along my path, like when I wish I had had the discipline to actually study writing in my impressionable youth. But no, as you say, it is in the willingness to face the blank page and set out, accepting what arises from your own associative networks, and working with it honestly and respectfully. Not woo-woo or navel-staring at all, just going the distance with what you've got to get where you want to be. Thank you!
Thanks so much, Alden. Sling a backpack on your shoulder, fill your water bottle, and enjoy the trail. If the thickets get too wicked, detour to an easier route!
Jeff, this is terrific! You took me trekking in Nepal by way of your essay, in an essay about essays and Nepal. Not just a tongue-twister, and no small feat. Plus, I wasn't oxygen-deprived! I gather many nuggets that will help me in my own writing. Thank you. - James
Thanks James, appreciate your reading this and kind words. Based on where you live, I'm betting you have some epic trails not far too far from you. Happy trekking!
Loving your essays, Jeff. Keep them coming. Big love.
Thanks so much, Sally, and big congrats to your recent grad.
Wow, Jeff. I feel inspired to create, whiling trekking on building & healing self after reading your piece! In this past week, writing felt like a hard journey but rewarding. Really looking forward to what comes next in your column!
Thanks Emma! Appreciated your feedback.
This is excellent Jeff! Thank you
Thanks!
This is one of my favorite essays of yours Jeff. I resonate deeply with it. I especially loved, "And when I finish an essay, or a trek, I am never the same person." This to me is one of the best arguments for human writing over AI. AI is not transformed by the process of writing and when we lean on it we short-circuit the process of our collective evolution via word hiking.
Thanks so much Rick. Your feedback means a lot. That's a good point re AI, too.
I love your thoughts about writing, Jeff. I resonate with writing being a form of narrative therapy.
When I started writing, it felt painful because I was doing it for external metrics (likes, subscribers, possible revenue in the future). But recently, I've been using writing to solve my own problems. To know more about myself. To understand what I truly feel and why I feel that way. To create a micro-transformation within myself every single week.
Writing has never felt more important to me ever since I made that shift.
I love the transformation of motivations, from external to internal, that you described, Linart. I try to do the same myself, though I do still struggle with my neediness for external validation. Your sentence "creating a micro-transformation within myself every single week" is so well-put. It brilliantly captures the spirit of what I was trying to get across in this essay. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Jeff. If you ever write about how you're dealing with wanting external validation, I'd love to give it a read as someone going through it as well.
I loved this essay Jeff! As someone who hikes, backpacks, and writes this is an excellent analogy. I hadn't thought of it like this until you wrote this essay but now I find myself thinking, how did I not see this before?! Awesome, perspective!
Bennett, that’s awesome you enjoy both and can relate! Thanks for your kind words.
...i love hiking...i love essays...so this was the best of both worlds...keep on keeping on good man...
Thanks, as ever, for your transformational, right-brain feedback. It's all about editing... editing... editing.... [insert picture of me on a hamster wheel waving at you]
I've never written an essay. I've never trekked in Nepal. But I know that a stew of tumbling thoughts can be and has to be straightened out by writing them down. First, by just jotting down whatever points pop up first. Then by identifying what's most important and the proper sequence of the subsequent ideas. Upon completion, I never realized that my sense of accomplishment was as good as a Himalayan High! BTW Jeff, I didn't understand this sentence from paragraph #9: This also is similar to treks, when process how we tell the story of them and where we find meaning in them. I get the gist of it but not reading it.
Thanks for the feedback, John. I am pro-jotting! You're correct that that sentence isn't clear. I took a shot at editing that sentence. Can you read it and tell me if it's more clear now?
Oh Jeff, so beautifully described. I'm loving this metaphor as I hack away at the judgment thickets along my path, like when I wish I had had the discipline to actually study writing in my impressionable youth. But no, as you say, it is in the willingness to face the blank page and set out, accepting what arises from your own associative networks, and working with it honestly and respectfully. Not woo-woo or navel-staring at all, just going the distance with what you've got to get where you want to be. Thank you!
Thanks so much, Alden. Sling a backpack on your shoulder, fill your water bottle, and enjoy the trail. If the thickets get too wicked, detour to an easier route!