Why do we write?
Because we have stories to tell, messages to communicate, lessons to impart to others?
Because we ‘hear voices’?  (As in the voices of characters who are trying to get out of our heads and into the world)
Because it’s therapeutic, soothing and fulfilling; a way of working things out, of giving shape to our thoughts, our fears and our dreams?
For me, it’s all of the above, and more.

I don’t know how other people’s minds work, but mine has always been flooded with waves of concurrent thoughts intercepting each other, colliding with each other, contradicting each other, at any given time of any given day. Even when I try to do meditation or yoga, the ‘noise’ in my head refuses to stop. And all my life, I have wanted to know what it would feel like to have my mind empty of thoughts, blissfully silent, even if this lasted for only a few seconds. Inevitably, when my wish eventually came true, it was at the worst possible time: my mind chose to go blank – joyfully devoid of words, thoughts or images – in the middle of a speech I was delivering at a public speaking contest.

“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.” 
(Life Magazine’s motto, as featured in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty)

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty had a production budget of 90 million USD, and as such it is packed with special effects and breathtaking scenery filmed in remote locations. But the story goes beyond that. It explores the purpose of life (a subject too vast to be tackled here) and the power of imagination, which is the subject of this blog post.

It is not often I burst into tears when receiving a gift, but that is what happened on Christmas when I opened one of Mark’s presents.
First he explained that it had been a small odyssey finding this gift. He had been looking for it for years, and recently found it on two on-line catalogues in Australia; but his orders were cancelled in both cases because they didn't have the item in stock. Finally he bought it from an eBay merchant in the States, who sent it by express post to ensure arrival before Christmas (it arrived on Christmas Eve). After all that effort, Mark hoped that I would like it, but he didn't expect me to cry. He knew, at that moment, that it had all been worth it.

Have you started compiling your ‘bucket list’? Or is it something that you will do when you are closer to ‘kicking the bucket’?
Personally, I got started early. Being diagnosed with a chronic condition such as Diabetes Type 1 (insulin dependent) makes you consider such things.