Article | Soul Ferryman
For the first time, I calm down and talk about writing.
Where do we start talking about the power of writing?
I have known the magic of writing from a very early age. In my memory, there are these shining moments: when I was in junior high school, I accidentally participated in a school writing competition and actually won the first prize; I was super excited every time I took a composition class. I conceived and completed an article in a short time. When I didn’t have the intention to review before the college entrance examination, I wrote poetry and wrote two books of free-style poems and prose. Basically, I used writing to write. Healing my confusion about the future; When I was in college, I majored in electrical engineering. When I was a freshman, I was the only one in the college to take the Chinese writing liberal arts course in the Chinese Department. I wrote diaries in college, and then the school network became available, so I started publishing diaries on the school network, which received praise from many classmates. I accidentally submitted an article to the school newspaper and was actually hired. After I started working, I got an app, so I gave myself I took up the pen name of "Soul Ferryman" and started my creative journey...
Behind everything that seemed to be logical, there seemed to be an invisible force that was guiding me forward. I am sure that the power of my name comes from my inner drive to express myself. I am an introverted person. Compared to speaking and sharing on stage, I prefer the nourishment of my heart when I am alone and writing. For me, writing is more like a way to heal my own soul and a path of self-cultivation.
Some people do it through dance, some people do it through yoga, some people do it through meditation, some people do it through songwriting, some people do it through acting... Everyone has different ways of expressing themselves, and I just chose writing.
On the road of writing, I have several idol-level mentors: Haruki Murakami, Irving Yalom, and Ken Wilbur. I like Murakami's delicate writing style, admire the mystery of Yaron's conception, and am amazed by Wilbur's integrated thoughts. If I really want to define my own style, I want to use delicate writing, clever conception, and integrated thoughts and souls. To express concern, write about the world deep in your heart and the beautiful people and things around you.
Two basic skills are necessary in our era, one is writing, and the other is sharing or speaking. Writing is to connect with one’s own heart and give yourself strength; sharing is to connect with others’ hearts and bring them together. Share your inner thoughts with more partners and give strength to others. If you practice these two skills well, you can use them no matter what industry you are in or what specific career you are engaged in.
Let’s take myself as an example. My job is as a life insurance consultant. Through writing, I can write down my understanding of the meaning and function of life insurance into articles, and then share them with my friends around me. Over time, this has become part of my personal brand. Many people know that at AIA, there is a life insurance consultant who can write, and his articles are very contagious. For another example, I particularly like psychology and am also a nationally certified psychological counselor. I usually write a lot of articles on psychological topics. When I share them frequently, others will be deeply impressed over time and they will say Justin I am very knowledgeable about psychology and have my own unique insights. If many friends have some psychological confusion, they will come to me to share and consult with me. So, this has become part of my personal brand.
Many of my friends are excellent writers, such as Sister Ruchen. I particularly like her writing, which is simple and true to her feelings. There are not too many gorgeous words or too many eye-catching themes. She just carefully records every bit of her life, small beauties, and random thoughts, which is very effective. It touches people's hearts.
In fact, there is no reason, it is just pure love and liking. If you write more, it will naturally become something you are good at.
For me, writing is a way of self-healing and dialogue, a dialogue with my own soul, and a connection with my own heart.
Three years ago, I fell into a deep depression. At that time, I felt that life was full of pain, life was like punishment to me, and the world was a purgatory to me. I clearly remember that one evening in 2015, I was sitting alone in the bus, looking at the neon lights of Suzhou City flashing outside. I suddenly felt so strange. I couldn’t find myself in such a big city. I don’t know where my future lies, and I don’t dare to face an empty home. A few days later it was my birthday. It was the first time I celebrated my birthday alone until I was 30 years old. I sat in the car, playing "Happy Birthday to Me" on a loop, and cried loudly. During that time, I felt like everything was ruined and my life was a tragedy.
During that time, I went to see a psychological counselor and a psychiatrist. In the end, it was myself who really pulled me back from the abyss. By reading psychology books at home alone and healing myself through writing, I rediscovered myself. At that time, the two books that had the deepest impact on me now I often share with my friends, one is "The Road Less Traveled" and the other is "Living the Meaning of Life". The first book made me Knowing that I need to mature mentally, I need to shoulder my responsibilities and what true love is. The second book made me think about the meaning of my life. So, when I was preparing to write on the platform, I gave myself a pen name: Soul Ferryman.
The signature is: Use the way of writing to warm the world, use the way of ferrying to reach others, and be a spiritual ferryman.
Therefore, my original intention in writing is eight words: to help others, to help others. Through writing, self-awakening and practice, I have awakened myself, share this awareness, and help others; help others find their own mission and direction, and use their lives to influence lives. In the end, we all have to help ourselves and be our own ferrymen. If we don’t want to wake up, no one can help us.
Anything you want to record, including your mood, emotions, thoughts, inspirations at the moment, or anyone or anything you are interested in, can be recorded by writing.
The articles I write here will be divided into different collections, such as: monthly summary, psychology, dream club, AIA entrepreneurial experience, reading experience, personal brand and other topics. Whenever there is something I want to write about on these topics that interest me, I will add articles to it.
So, it is very simple to write anything. You can write anything you want to record. How do you find what you want to write about? Ask yourself what you are interested in and start with what you are interested in. Writing does not rely on willpower, but the heart that wants to write.
As for the how part, we always see many courses on the market, such as: 21-day writing training camp, 10 days to teach you how to write...
Many want to Some of my writing partners will definitely take such courses and gain some methods and routines on how to write. However, are these methods really suitable for us? Can the articles we write impress ourselves? What was your original intention in writing? If you have forgotten your original intention or have never thought about why you want to write, or if you just see that many best-selling authors have made good income through writing, you think you can give it a try...
When Haruki Murakami decided When it came time to write a novel, it was his heart that told him what to write and how to write it, not that he went to a writing camp and became a novelist. Only the strong desire and enthusiasm in the heart can sustain output.
Regarding how to write high-quality articles, my standard for myself is: let yourself be moved. Because the first reader of the articles we write is ourselves. If the content cannot move our hearts, and it is just to gain eyeballs or pursue reading volume, I think that is not what I want. Writing is a process of connecting with your own heart, talking to yourself, and talking to the characters in your own articles. There is no room for other distracting thoughts. The simpler it is, the more impressive it is. Human nature is always connected. Only those who can impress themselves can impress others. Only those who can nourish themselves can also nourish others.
If there is really a need for any method, my feeling is:
In our era of information overload, our hearts are easily distracted by all kinds of thoughts and desires. , I am full of distracting thoughts, and I am also the same. Writing gives me a good space to be alone, allowing me to temporarily empty my mind and feel the beautiful people and things around me. Dear friends, how long has it been since you listened to the sound of birds? How long has it been since you slowed down and carefully observed a leaf or a big tree? How long has it been since you heard the echo in the mountains? How long has it been since you heard the call from your heart? We are always on the road and almost forget the meaning of travel.
If you want to write a heart-stirring article, first calm down your mind. You can do it through meditation, running, or yoga. Find a comfortable way to enter a state of flow. Only when the mind calms down can our senses become more sensitive.
Just like a director, you have to have any frame you want to shoot in your mind and then present it. Create the image first and then record it. In the end, the resulting article is like a movie sequence.
If you are writing a novel, then put your heart into the novel character you are writing and feel his life; if you are recording your own mood, then act in your true colors, positive and negative emotions Record everything without judging; if you write a green leaf, just express the beauty of life and your inner joy. You will be amazed at how orderly life is.
Only when the mind is peaceful enough, can we focus all our attention on one point. At this time, we will feel that we have extremely powerful energy, and it will be very difficult to create whatever content we want to write. Simple things.
If you want to make achievements in writing, it is very important to maintain a relatively fixed writing time. Make writing a part of your daily life and become a subconscious habit, just like waking up every day. It’s natural to brush your teeth and wash your face. This is not something that ordinary people can do, and neither do I. It’s hard to be so disciplined every day. However, there is no need to be too harsh on yourself. For most people, writing is a way of recording their lives and a hobby, rather than relying on it to live or become a professional writer. Therefore, there is no need to be demanding on yourself, as long as you keep your thoughts and ideas. Just write with your heart in mind. When it comes to self-discipline in writing, I particularly admire Haruki Murakami. Writing and running every day are important parts of his daily life.
Find a time period that suits you. You don’t have to write every day. If you have content or topics you want to write about, using these time periods to write is very suitable for most of us. This is also a sense of ritual.
Writing is a life experience for me personally. I experience the richness and diversity of life in it. In writing, I can experience multiple lives, which transcend the limitations of time and space. I seem to become a light, traveling through the past, present and future, or even time does not exist, and what is left is only emptiness, emptiness. It also contains infinite possibilities and creativity. I am extremely grateful for everything writing has given me. Through self-healing, self-exploration, and self-awakening, through writing, I found my soul, the meaning of my life, and my mission. I will influence more lives through the power of writing.