• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
  • Destinations
    • Philippines
    • Japan
    • Indonesia
    • Malaysia
    • Singapore
  • Guides
    • Hikes
    • Beaches | Lakes | Rivers | Falls
    • Hotels & Resorts
    • Cities
    • Restaurants
    • Parks & Walking Tours
    • Travel Essentials
  • Stories
    • Reflections on the Road
    • Life As a Writer
    • Parenthood
    • Womanhood
    • Quarantine Series
    • Events
  • Poetry
  • Letters to Lia
  • Contact
Our World in Words

Our World in Words

Salvation’s first

During the time I was setting up this blog, I was initially thinking of using Salvation Project for the title (which, as it turns out, is also a blog title of some religious army convert). My husband, Jigs, asked me, “Bakit salvationproject? Ano’ng sinesave mo?”

“Myself,” I said. Which roused suspicion that I was hinting of a marital problem. I had to prevent myself from laughing.

Let me elaborate.

Personally, I see only four reasons why people would want to be/ are blogging. 1) They want to talk without being interrupted, OR but nobody listens 2) They want to whine and complain, take their revenge on life’s little fuck-ups by spreading the word 3) They want to promote a cause and earn profit or recognition 4) They simply want to peel themselves, save a little humanity through a mirror of their lives and hope that people would learn too, seeing their reflection on that mirror.

Now, I know a lot of people who go for the second. I am guilty of it a number of times. Not that it’s a bad thing, but I also find it short of maturity to do so. Soon people will get tired of the same habit, and you for the meantime, grow more in spite and less in novelty. There’s a difference between writing that merely bites and that which bites and leaves an indelible mark.

So I’m leaving you with this: I write publicly hoping to save myself from the poisons – from being too callous, too used to things, too indifferent – praying that anyone who right-clicks their way into this may understand himself better, so both you and I would harbor a universe where pain, love, sadness, anger, madness, light and awe all exist at the same time and we all could look at it like a child does the first time. That’s why God made writers in the first place. Not so they have a personal tunnel to pleasure, but to share a personal obligation to the world. Because most of the time, it simply forgets.

in Uncategorized # Writing life

About the Author

Gretchen Filart

Gretchen Filart is a writer from the Philippines, where she weaves poems and creative nonfiction about motherhood, love, healing, nature, and intersectionalities. Her works have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net, received distinction from phoebe’s Spring Poetry Contest and Navigator’s Travel Writing Competition, and share space in local and foreign publications. Connect with her on Twitter, Instagram, and Bluesky @gretchenfilart. She’s usually friendly.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recommended Reads

Endings and beginnings

We need to need people more

Returning to our personal forest on International Forest Day

Latest ‘grams

Footer

Legal Stuff

  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

Copyright

Any part of this website may not be reproduced on another website or platform without the author's written consent. All applicable copyright and intellectual laws apply. Copyright applies to all posts, images, and pages of this website, unless otherwise stated. To seek permission for reproduction, contact the author at [email protected].

Explore

  • Destinations
  • Food & travel guides
  • Stories
  • Letters to Lia

Sign up to be the first to receive updates from us!

2021 © Our World in Words. All Rights Reserved.
made by soulmuse