Reading and Writing is a miracle

I've been thinking how miraculous it is that I can look at black squiggles on a white page and get meaning and entertainment from it. Being able to read and write is nothing short of a miracle and yet we take it for granted these days. How can a sweet note from a loved one reach inside me and warm my heart. It is only a symbol for what the person wants to tell me but those plain black letters effect my mood and my level of happiness.

Sometimes I sit for hours and look at the black ink in a novel or non fiction book and I see mental pictures and ideas that inspire, mystify and amaze me. All this from letters on a page. That seems impossible. However, we have collectively decided to agree that each letter is pronounced a certain way and it sounds certain ways and that symbol turns into real communication between people, real dialogue, real sharing of emotions and ideas. How amazing!

As a writer, I would have expected to think of this before but recently it hit me hard when I realized that those things I take so for granted would mean nothing at all to the average person two hundred years ago and that if a person could not interpret the meaning, they would miss out on a major part of life. I felt I needed to share this amazing thought with others who like me take it all for granted. Look around you and you'll see writing everywhere. It's on TV, on buildings, signs, books, papers and even on curbs. Its an arificial construct but it seems so natural to me that I can't imagine mankind ever being without it. I look at this page and meaning leaps off the screen at me. What if that line of script had no meaning for me and I couldn't interpret it?

I am truly grateful that I can read and write.


Saundra Crum Akers