Speaking less has its benefits. You expend less energy. You are less misunderstood. You do not have to tailor-make your words for the audience concerned, You become a silent observer of things both necessary as well as unnecessary. And finally, you do not react to every word spoken, but rather respond to the same in your own sweet time.

Since speaking less is a boon, hence, writing more is a natural corollary of the former. I have always spoken/written/promoted the use of the written word in this blog as well as in my earlier blogs. The written word is slowly becoming extinct in this fast moving world that relies more on minuscule text messages rather than on long letters. We are always in a rush to achieve more within a short span of time. This never ending rush is probably that which makes us lazy and somnolent towards the written word. Letters, post cards and the like are no longer in fashion. Emails have become dinosaurs, and are only seen within the precincts of official environments. Writing diaries and journals have become old fashioned too. What remains is an incessant rush to fill up the void in our lives with constant chatter and self advertisement (through social media sites). The need to take things slowly is gradually disappearing. This is actually a crisis of our civilization and must be rectified with immediate effect. The individual who is no longer comfortable with the written word is severely harming himself/herself in the process. The individual who is in a constant rush to accomplish too many things within a tiny span of time is also severely neglecting his or her own potential to do great things slowly.

The written word more than a luxury, is today an immense necessity. Not only for our minds, but also for our souls. Speaking less, rushing less and reacting less should be seen as a way to sustain ourselves in the long run. Thus, I rest my case in defense of the written word.

Au revoir !