Of writing and the changing colours of life

Recently, I watched a Japanese movie titled ‘Sweet Bean’ by Tetsuya Akikawa. It was an unassuming story that imparts nuggets of wisdom, and portrays positivity amid life (harsh) realities. The main character – a recovered leprosy patient – kept encouraging the other main lead, a dorayaki (sweet bean pastry) shop manager, to ‘follow his heart’. That gave me the final push to start blogging again. 

“I know you may not be able to hear anything now, even if you try, but please don’t give up. I feel sure that one day you will find whatever it is you seek, and that the spark that leads to it will come from hearing some kind of voice. People’s lives never stay the same colour forever. There are times when the colour of life changes completely.” ― Durian Sukegawa, Sweet Bean Paste

Earlier in my career as an editor, I often shared with my juniors on understanding the purpose of writing each article or copy. This is a simple yet essential fact, which is often overlooked by zealous (novice) writers who take pride in their flair for writing. Well, it takes more than good writing skills to deliver powerful words that affect your audience the way you want to, especially in today’s world of modern technology.  

For that, I remain grateful to have TravelBeckons.com for my personal colourful musings. Truth to be told, this is a site dedicated to kindred spirits. Aside from sharing my silly ramblings and heartfelt thoughts, I hope my experiences can be of help to those who wander or wonder to find your way and be at ease wherever you may be.

I was flooded with uncertainties and reluctance to revive this travel blog that has been “grey” for a while. It didn’t seem that long but I realised with a start when I properly looked at my past entries that the window of absence between 2018 to 2021 was a good THREE years. Three years where I buried myself in the corporate world, writing wholly for commercial purposes. 

I travelled quite a bit in those years, but any desire to write for pleasure or personal reasons then were stifled, so much so that it is a struggle for me to start writing on my own terms. The colours are dimmed at the moment but it’s coming back to me slowly, and your encouragement can do wonders. Be it a like, share or a comment, it would be great to hear from any of you. 🙂 🙏

Here’s to meaningful days and a life of changing colours.