Intertribal Life Newspaper -

SANTA, FE, NEW MEXICO-There's something about Santa Fe, New Mexico that's quite special. It may be the many museums and galleries that dot the landscape with art and history. Or maybe the confluence of cultures: Native American, Spanish, and Anglo. Or maybe it's the food or architecture? I'm not too sure. But it's probably the convergence of these-and several other unique elements-that makes this 400-year old city one of America's great cultural sites.

My recent excursion to Santa Fe was to attend a small writer's retreat sponsored by Calvary Albuquerque. A team of writers met to discuss upcoming writing projects, learn good writing skills, and develop a writer's style sheet to help keep our writing consistent. The retreat lasted from Friday night to Saturday afternoon. Generally speaking, there wasn't a lot of time to do much else. We were in the city to work. But in Santa Fe, there's always a surprise or two looming on the horizon.

Just to give you a glimpse of what we were able to take in in a few hours before and after the retreat: an exhibit of Georgia O'Keeffe's artwork and Ansel Adams photography; a few galleries, meeting award winning Native American artist, Stan Natchez; a photography discussion and presentation by award winning photographer, Craig Vanjarbeian; a Flamenco dance at the El Farol restaurant; and in the morning between church services at Calvary Santa Fe, artwork at the New Mexico Museum of Art. Just a quick walk through the museum afforded us a view artwork by Gustave Baumann, Angus Martin, and T. C. Canon, to name a few.

To say the least, it was an enlightening weekend, a kind of intellectual and cultural calming, a respite for the mind and soul. Just like culture can bring clarity and healing to a life, so, too, can writing. Writing and emotional healing (and some say physical) can go hand in hand. Writing can renovate.

But I'm getting ahead of myself: Back to the writer's retreat.

Attending this retreat were our core writers from Calvary Albuquerque, those of us who write, edit, and ensure that the huge amount of work coming from Calvary (a church of fifteen thousand people) is consistent and readable. We worked hard, and received great insight into the writer's process.

After the retreat ended, I was scheduled to lead the call to worship during Calvary Santa Fe's two worship services on Sunday morning. I walked into Calvary Santa Fe (a multi-site campus of Calvary Albuquerque) an hour before service. I decided to help insert an ad in the worship bulletin. It was here that I noticed a round flyer: an announcement for an April 6th fundraiser using the sale of doughnuts.

During this task, worship pastor, Nick Crespo, walked up. He looked at the flyer and asked, "Isn't doughnut spelled wrong?" "Shouldn't it be d-o-n-u-t," he continued.

I looked at the round flyer. And yes, it was spelled "doughnut." I pondered Nick's question. I'm sure it can be spelled both ways, I thought to myself. Later, I looked up the word online. Sure enough: both spellings are appropriate. Yeah for our editing team!

It just so happened that Nick has recently been curious about the writing process, asking for good books on the subject. Because I just came from a writer's retreat, I had a few books in the truck. We walked outside to look at them. We talked about "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser, "Writing Tools" by Roy Peter Clark, "Writer's Workshop" by Stephen Koch, and the "Writer's Art" by James Kilpatrick.

All are helpful-and some amazing-books on the art of writing.

Yet there were two books I forgot to mention: Anne Lamott's "Bird By Bird," and Stephen King's, "On Writing." It just so happens that Stephen King has a connection to New Mexico. In a small city south of Santa Fe called Truth or Consequences (affectionately known as "T or C"), King has a key to the city. Back in 1983, he was asked by his college roommate to speak in the town. King gave the speech, and was given the keys. November 19 is now Stephen King Day in T or C. 

But I digress.

My point in this "donut" or "doughnut" story is to state the obvious: writing can be an elusive process, even scary for some. By noticing the spelling of donuts or doughnuts, Nick was beginning to sense the allure and frustration of writing. Which spelling is correct? What word best describes that which one is trying to communicate? Just think of this: figuring out how to spell a word can strike fear in the heart of a writer, and send an editor into a state of frenzy.

But writing can also be a very personal and freeing experience. Writing can afford a person to think with hand, head, and heart, communicating that which is held deep within. Some write well, others not so well. But I'm not too sure if it's how well one writes when it comes to deep, personal expression. It's the process of writing rather than the product of writing that matters in situations such as these.

As mentioned above, writing can help renovate a life, bringing clarity of thought to life's predicaments and trials.

According to Dr. James Pennebaker, professor at University of Texas at Austin, writing does do this: it can heal. In a feature story on the University of Texas at Austin Web Site, it states, "if one were to write down your deepest feelings about an emotional upheaval in your life for 15 or 20 minutes a day for four consecutive days... Many of those who followed his simple instructions have found their immune systems strengthened. Others have seen their grades improved. Sometimes entire lives have changed."

Pennebaker states, "People who engage in expressive writing report feeling happier and less negative than before writing."

In an article for Time Magazine (July 2013), Maia Szalavitz, concurs with Pennebaker's conclusions. Szalavitz states, "writing may also help the body by reducing stress; less anxiety means fewer stress hormones, which can interfere with chemicals needed for wound healing."

Szalavitz concludes her article with, "For those who do experience relief from expressing their emotions, however, writing may become an important part of helping them to recover -both in mind and in body- from difficult situations."

If Pennebaker and Szalavitz are correct, writing can, in fact, help heal a life.

This is great news. If writing helps people, bringing some sort of healing, why don't more people write? Maybe it's fear. Maybe it's the memory of all those red lines on their school papers, slashed about like a knife in a cadaver. Maybe it's a lack of time. Maybe discipline. It's really hard to tell why more people don't write for personal expression.

But if someone were to begin to write for renovation, how should they begin the process as reported by Pennebaker and others?

A few points recommended in the University of Texas at Austin website article state, "Find a time and place where you won't be disturbed, write continuously for at least 20 minutes, don't worry about spelling or grammar, write for yourself..."

All great advice. And it seems simple enough. No teachers to worry about. Grammar and spelling don't matter (no "donut" or "doughnuts"). And the few moments of undisturbed peace may be just what the doctor ordered. Maybe writing can really help heal a life.

So if I'm reading Pennebaker and Szalavitz correctly (personalizing it from my recent retreat), writing is akin to my stroll through Santa Fe. As I take short spurts away from a hectic schedule or situation (aka a retreat from the business of life), I can soak up that which is found about me and within me (culture, art, history, and writing), discovering a new form of expression in thoughts, words, and experiences that can bring renovation, even healing. And if these short retreats (cultural or 20 minutes of writing) bring respite to a tired soul, then I should be doing that which nurtures my mind, body, and soul. I should be writing. Correct? I think I may be right.

To back up my summary, I turn to Christian writer, Anne Lamont, the writer whose book, "Bird By Bird," I forgot to mention to Nick. Lamott states, "Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It's like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can't stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship."

Brian Nixon

Santa Fe is unique. Museums and art galleries dot the landscape with art and history, Among them Stan Natchez, award-winning Native American artist.

In the same book, Lamott writes, "I heard a preacher say recently that hope is a revolutionary patience; let me add that so is being a writer. Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up." 

I like these quotes. In them we're reminded to "feed our soul," dance, clap with "the absurdity of life," sing, and have hope, looking for the coming dawn. And when you think about it, this is why we should write: to leave a thought or two on what it means to be human, to inscribe a word on the page of life so that others will read, think, feel, and maybe one day, study, that word. And in doing so, you will help further the understanding of why humans write and communicate; of why we whisper in words on a page, seeking a voice-maybe The Voice-that has been writing since the beginning of time.

© 2014 Assist News Service. Used with permission of the author and ANS.