by Bai Maleiha

Created on: August 11, 2008

Yes. You can heal through writing. Words can heal. Writing the right words for a sincere purpose with a relevant theme is an act of healing tragedies in life.

Words have a life of their own. They could take the place of a human touch when distance stops one from getting close with her or his special someone. They can medicate, and if written or verbalized regularly with sweetness and sincerity, they also have the power TO HEAL. But what is there to heal? A broken soul or just a broken dream? The former needs a longer time to recuperate while the latter needs a maximum dose of inspirational words to awaken the sleeping spirit within.

One of the most valued words that healed many people in my hometown at the height of war then was "Peace". A beautiful and calming word. Peace once spoken disrupts the flow of war. A word that is the exact opposite of violence and restlessness. A written or spoken word of "peace" is a healing act. The desire to have it and to work hard to materialize it sooths and gives hope to those hopeless and bothered souls. I have seen this through my actual experience as the editor-in-chief of a local paper in my war ravaged hometown.

Please allow me to share my personal experience, no matter how small, on how my writing has participated in effecting the healing process for the war victims in 2000 here in the province of Maguindanao, in the Philippines, during the time when I was the editor-publisher of a local paper here.

I have witnessed how human souls lost their way to the light owing to violence and cruelty of war. The only sweetest word then, and the most needed was "PEACE". All the people here were in dire need to pacify the warring groups and to cease the strife through their campaign for a war-free community.

Whenever the word "PEACE" was spoken, everyone in our war devastated province listened. To them it was the only HEALING WORD that gave them hope. The only chance to see the other side of life-opposite of war.

Through my writing I conveyed the importance of "healing" by appealing through the editorials I wrote on the necessity of avoiding the use of war-provoking words that could rekindle animosity which would lead to another bloody and violent confrontation.

My contribution then as a writer was to help in achieving and sustaining the healing of the community whose collective spirit dived down to zero owing to war. As a broadcast journalist too, I tried hard to inject inspirational words into the theme of my television show and radio programs, to help lift up spirits among my listeners and viewers. Both in writing and oral communication, I tried my very best to help in the healing process. To me, it was not just my social obligation as a community publisher. It was in fact a personal need for me to see "hope" in the midst of such excruciating situations.

On the other hand, my written communications to my family and friends, are always composed of kind words. I want to inspire them and show how much I value each one of them. A short note of love to friends and loved ones would always heal them especially during the moments when they are too down to smile.

As a writer, my dear friend, you can heal. You have the power to make someone smile, encourage a hopeless soul, lift up a forlorn spirit and inspire someone to be the best that he could be. For the gift of writing is the gift of God. It is a skill given us to put in words the angelic spirit of God's love for our friends, co-workers, neighbors, family and most especially, those who are in need of attention and care.

Writers are healers. If you are a writer, then thank God for your talent. You have the power to change the lives of those people who believe in very word you pen for them to read and learn from.

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