Freedom of Thought; A New Beginning

It has been quite some time since I have written down my thoughts in any sort of extended context, and I couldn’t really say for certain why that is. It has been haunting me the past few nights, the fact that I have not been writing for so long. In fact, it has been years since I have written for leisure. Other than mandatory essays for coursework, I have mainly kept my thoughts silent and stowed away like my grandfather’s old jazz guitar. Collecting dust and aging; having the potential to create a new sound, but choosing to stay silent hanging on the wall- hoping, praying that someone will bump into it- if only to hit the wall with enough force to cause a few seconds of resonation as the strings vibrate ever so slightly against the neck.

Having the potential to create and articulate thoughts but choosing to stay silent haunts me. It haunts me for a few reasons- the most important reason being that I have a voice that I take for granted. Pondering that for a second, I have a voice. I am permitted, encouraged even, to think. To feel. To express. And this is not something to be taken for granted or squandered. I am not starting this blog because I feel that my words are profound or will touch anyone in any way. I do not seek any sort of accolades nor do I expect them. The reason for the publication of selected pages of my journal is to simply spark good conversation and provoke healthy and thoughtful debate among close friends. If the words of this journal somehow do affect or move anyone in some way, then so be it. But do not take this the wrong way when I say that it is all the same to me if my words do not move anyone at all. Many may even find me to be a babbling, pedantic fool, and that opinion may be warranted in some contexts.

To clarify, it is not that I do not hold the opinions of others in high regard, because nothing could be further from the truth. Rather, in this context, I seek only honesty of thought- my own thought and the thoughts of others. From that, if others' thoughts are provoked or challenged, or if they happen to agree or disagree, it is all the same to me. As long as an environment of uninhibited, unabashed thought prevails, whether or not we agree or disagree on any topic is of little consequence to me. The environment of clear thinking is what I seek.
  I am perfectly satisfied simply with the existence of this journal because the purpose of it is primarily to remind myself that I have a voice. Even if no one reads it. Even if no one chooses to listen to it. Even if no one finds its words worth any value, I still have the responsibility to use it. Expression of thought is a blessing that many have never experienced. Many oppressed around the world will never feel the liberation of freedom of thought, and I lie sleepless at night sometimes pondering why I have squandered my freedom of thought and expression for so long. I question why I have hung on the wall collecting dust, like my grandfather's jazz guitar, waiting for those rare moments when someone would bump me hard enough to help me work up the courage or ire to resonate a few seconds of sound. I am done collecting dust, and I am ready to create. Some may like it, all may hate it. But to me, it exists with each press of the keyboard. And that is enough. I hope that you will join me with your voices. Your creations.