TO WRITE: Things Worth Saving
Why do we all get attached to particular physical objects? Whether it's an expensive car or a smooth stone in your pocket, nearly all of us feel a connection with certain items. Some of us even have trouble not "glomming on" to everything that comes our way.

With firestorm season beginning in California (not to mention the ever present threat of an earthquake in these parts), I wonder just what I'd save from my home if only given a couple of minutes. And how would that list expand if I had more warning?

After playing that mental exercise, I wonder how those priorities affect the way I look at my possessions in general. For example, why is it so hard to be ruthless when cleaning out a closet or drawer of old things that I don't use or care about, but which might be useful "someday"?

Play with this. . .
Writing quickly, jot down the items you'd save if you only had a few moments to get out of your home. (Assume that all people and pets are already safe.) Then enlarge your list to what you'd take if you had a couple of hours to pack. Next, write continuously for 10 minutes about what these lists tell you about how you live day-to-day and what you might like to adjust... Could properly backing up your computer leave you calmer? If you really treasure those old family photos, would you enjoy framing and hanging a few? If you discover that a certain book of poetry is very dear to you, do you want to make it a habit to read a page before bed each night?

I realized that I could give old t-shirts I haven't worn for years to Goodwill and that I'd love the empty space they left on the shelf. I also discovered that some of the meaningful greeting cards I've received and saved over the years would look great on my bulletin board and remind me of their kind words. Some things really are worth saving.

TO READ: Writing Saves Lives
Many writers love to claim it: The act of writing not only helped my life, it saved my life. Author and teacher Louise DeSalvo begins her book Writing as a Way of Healing with this claim; poet, author, painter Natalie Goldberg describes "How Poetry Saved My Life," in Top of My Lungs; my students have made this bold statement; I use it in Chapter 1 of my book-in-progress, Illuminating Words: The Power of Writing to Ease Depression to illustrate one of the key aspects of my recovery from severe bipolar disorder.

In this week's edition of Newsweek (Jan. 22, 2007), writer Anna Quindlen's column is titled Write for Your Life. In it, she describes how the disadvantaged teens documented in the new movie Freedom Writers find connection and even pride when a young teacher gives them blank notebooks and says to write anything at all. Now I know that some writers, including Virginia Wolff, have said that a piece of writing is not truly complete until someone else has read it, but I disagree. I've seen it in my students when they report on their journaling; I've felt it myself. Even writing for oneself can be meaningful and healing.

"Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture, but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals," according to novelist Don DeLillo as quoted in Quindlen's article. I think he puts it very well. While writing intended for family, friends or publication is no doubt fulfilling and empowering, there is a place, a crucial place, for personal, private writing as well. And it even saves lives.