POETRY

Writing Publicly

A doorway to self-love

When we write publicly We open ourselves up to criticism and judgment.

When we write publicly We open our hearts, our pasts, our wounds to the world.

When we write publicly We open our inner worlds up to a great unknown.

When we write publicly We intimately share ourselves with faceless others.

When we write publicly We bring our darkness forth into the light.

When we write publicly We shine our lights into others’ dark spaces.

When we write publicly We practice vulnerability, acceptance of self.

When we write publicly We raise our voices to justice.

When we write publicly We practice courage.

When we write publicly We come to know our deepest truths.

When we write publicly We come to feel purely alive.

When we write publicly We allow ourselves to be known as we are.

When we write publicly We indulge in self-love.

Since I began writing real and raw on Medium last Spring, I have been accused of seeking attention and drama through self-victimization, when the truth is exactly the opposite.

I write to be known because it is my vehicle towards self-realization, my doorway to self-love.

Writing publicly is an act of courage for me, and I believe for many of us who write from the heart. We don’t write for attention but rather to attention our inner worlds and bring them forth as we come to know our deepest selves in the process. The reader is simply a bonus, a container receiving the gifts of our process of deep self-exploration.

Writing publicly from the heart is the ultimate act of courage and an indulgence in the practice of self-love.

Other poems by Galit Birk, PhD: