How Medium Rescued Me From Loneliness
It offered me the twin benefits of creative expression and intellectual engagement with other writers
An act of rescue can both be physical and emotional.
The word “rescue” is packed with multiple layers of meaning.
We rescue animals and we rescue fellow humans from despair and misery.
A rescue is a supreme act of kindness because it transforms the life of the rescued being, whether animal or human. It can liberate and lead a person to spiritual transformation.
This story is in response to Ali Hall’s August 2022 prompt “rescue” for her publication, “Spread the Ripple.” Here is the link:
I wondered what I should write for the “rescue” prompt. I have written many stories about real life rescue of stray and injured animals for the publication.
Ali Hall asked us to be creative about interpreting the prompt, which meant I could use “rescue” in a metaphorical sense.
Writing consistently on Medium has kept my creative muscle in good shape. I suddenly got the idea to write about how Medium “rescued” me.
How I discovered Medium
I discovered Medium in March 2017 when my family faced a turbulent situation. My wife had to leave me and stay with our son who was working in another city.
I had no choice as the situation was unavoidable. After a few days, I began to feel lonely. I had few friends and I was in no mood to befriend anybody as I was an introvert.
Loneliness suffocated me with a sense of emptiness and listlessness. My book-reading habit, however, checked the loneliness to some extent.
One day, I clicked on an article’s link and landed on the Medium page. I got curious and explored the site. I understood anybody could write on Medium and realised it was an opportunity for me to keep my brain engaged as I liked writing.
I became a paid member after a couple of weeks and started self-publishing stories as I was not confident of pitching publications. My earlier stories were not bad content-wise, but suffered from poor formatting.
It was the comments section that helped me find my feet on Medium. I started writing comments on stories written by the then top writers like Christopher D. Connors, Zat Rana and Gustavo Razzetti. I was elated when these writers read my comments and appreciated them. Their encouraging words raised my confidence level.
I read many articles about formatting and grew in confidence to attempt writing for publications.
Dr Mehmet Yildiz inducted me into the ILLUMINATION publication. I owe my modest success on Medium substantially to Dr Yildiz because he supported me when I was struggling to find my voice on Medium. He supported me by leaving encouraging comments on my stories.
I also wrote for a couple of publications like Spiritual Tree and The Writers’ Blokke.
Network of writers
I realised I need to read other writers’ stories and respond to them to establish a personal connection. Gradually, I began to build a circle of writers who read my stories and connected with me in a spirit of reciprocity.
The list of writer-friends on Medium is long and I cannot mention all the names here. Kindly excuse.
One name, however, I cannot avoid mentioning: George J. Ziogas. He made me feel I was a great writer by his consistent and encouraging support. We chat a lot through private messages.
I struck a friendship with Ali Hall after commenting on a couple of her stories.When she started the publication dedicated to kindness, Spread the Ripple, I joined it as a contributor. I wrote several stories for STP mainly about kindness towards animals.
Once I pointed to Ali Hall about the delay in publishing a couple of my stories. Her response left me dumbstruck with a pleasant shock and awe. She made me an editor at Spread the Ripple so I could publish my drafts without waiting for her response. Her trust in me overawed me.
I never imagined I would write for publications when I started writing on Medium, let alone become an editor, considering my status as a non-native English writer. It was a great honour, one that came with greater responsibility and accountability.
All my friends on Medium treated me as an equal and never discriminated against me in any way because I was a non-native writer.
The short form piqued my curiosity. Katie Michaelson accepted me as a writer for The Daily Cuppa. This publication has been a second home for me. Katie and her team of editors treated me as a friend and encouraged my writing. I also discovered new friends here. I write for The Daily Cuppa almost on a daily basis. It’s a huge pleasure for me to write for this publication.
How Medium rescued me
Medium rescued me from the clutches of loneliness. Medium rescued me from falling into the dark pit of depression. Medium helped me keep dementia at bay. My father suffered from dementia during his final years and this beast is always on the back of my mind. Writing on Medium helped me enter into a Flow state often and this helped me transcend my loneliness.
Medium also created other positive spin offs for me. For example, I stopped watching TV and reading newspapers because Medium took so much of my time. My mental health improved without TV’s addictive influence and the newspaper’s negativity.
I have written about the shallowness of virtual friendships and the robustness of in-person social contacts.
All virtual friendships are not created equal. Writers on Medium do not gossip like on Facebook. The network of writers on Medium thrives on creative exchanges and intellectual engagements.
Writers read each other’s stories and elevate them with thoughtful responses. The civility and intellectual depth of the discourse refines the mind and elevates the soul.
Final thoughts
Medium rescued me from despair in one of the most challenging and troubling phases of my life. It provided mental, emotional and spiritual nourishment through creativity and meaningful engagements with fellow writers whose warmth and support worked like a balm to soothe my troubled mind.
Medium is not merely my rescuer; it has been my healer and nourisher.
May Medium and its community of writers and readers flourish!
Thanks for reading this story.
Come and write with us at Spread the Ripple.
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