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I find it difficult to say anything worth saying in a short Blog post. So I’m calling this Part 1 and will add Part 2 later. This will give you the analogy and next will come the theory behind it. I hope you enjoy it!
These days, it’s rare for me to pick up a pen and write more than a paragraph. Perhaps a short note to my husband or some instructions to my staff, but anything longer and I turn to my computer. Add to this that when I do write, I print - I haven’t used running (cursive) writing in a very long time.
But then a few months ago I was reading Norman Doidge’s book "The Brain That Changes Itself", in which he draws a connection between fluid thought and running writing. Basically saying that adults who prefer to print rather than running write, tend to have a lack of fluidity in their thoughts.
Now, I’m not one to think on my feet. I will come up with the perfect response (or the 10 questions I should have asked) about an hour after the conversation took place. So in an attempt to improve my witty response time, I’ve picked up a pen. I bought a shiny new book and ditched my laptop.
And I hate to admit just how hard I’m finding it. Keeping track of all those loops and going back to cross my t’s and dot my i’s! I cringe every time I open my beautiful book to reveal my horrid scrawl – and never mind that I can barely read it. It’s not fluid at all, so no wonder I can’t think on the go if I’ve lost such a basic skill.
What does this have to do with The Feldenkrais Method? Movement can affect the way we think. We can create new neurological pathways by refining a skill or learning something new. There’s a trendy new catch phrase called Neuroplasticity – heard of it?
More on that next time, but for now I’m curious, is it just me who’s lost the art or writing? How often do you hand write more than a paragraph, and do you use running writing?
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This is really interesting and makes perfect sense to me! I love to write, though my running writing has eveolved somewhat from the cursive we were taught at school and no longer follows convention - totally my own style nowadays. I still communicate with several friends and relatives via handwritten snail mail (though less and less as time passes). I am finding it fascinating to see my eldest boy master his cursive writing as he strives for his 'pen licence'.. I wonder how much longer they'll bother to teach it in schools...
ReplyDeleteDenise, this is wonderful! Great writing!
ReplyDeleteI use cursive writing when I'm journaling and that can go on for pages and pages. The down side to that (maybe) is that no one (myself included) can puzzle out what I've written. If I have to write a note by hand to someone, I generally use all caps (the last resort for legibility). Lewis loves to point out that even that is hard to read.
Thanks for making this blog.
And there we have it, two very free thinkers and both still very much into running writing! :)
ReplyDeleteLiselle, you have beautiful handwriting - I envy it! And I really hope they never stop teaching running writing at school. Norman Doidge in his book also mentions that when schools stopped making students remember long poems, it affected our auditory memory and contributed to a decline in eloquence.
Cheryl, I would say that no one being able to read your journal isn't so bad a thing really. Keep those thoughts private - except the ones you share with Patrick and I! I love those! Glad you found my blog! :)