Write! It frees the soul

I mentioned to a friend a little while back that I seemed to be blogging to order. The incredibly speedy response, almost as if premeditated, was "Write! it frees the soul"

What is my soul? and does writing actually free mine?

I have decided that my soul is the essence of "me", of who I am. It is the sum, or perhaps more than the sum, of everything that defines me. It is the qualities I was born with plus all of the influences on my life: my personality, my education, my experiences, my faith, family and friends. My soul is what makes me who I am, it is the essential Kylie, it is the thing that those who know me would recognise even if I looked different, sounded different, moved differently.

I had never thought of writing as freeing the soul but it does.

When I am writing, if it is going well, I am completely in the moment. The words flow from somewhere inside me, my soul, and onto the page without any interference from me. When I write I don't need to rely on someone else, in it's most simplified form I need nothing but a pencil and paper or a stick in the sand. The expression of my thoughts, of my self doesn't need any special tools or location or expertise. Writing allows me to be me in any circumstance. If I was paralysed and wrote through voice recognition technology it would still be me, my writing and my essence.
Even when I am carefully editing my words, my writing is still mine and it will still show you who I am. Nobody can take my words away, or dictate what I say. When everything falls into place writing frees me. Whether it is for a short moment or a long one, whether I write for escapism or for the grittiest of reality, I am free to be who I truly am.