If you always thought that poetry is just a way of the poet to self-express, then think again. You may still be at a nascent stage and far from self-actualization. However, you are not alone in thinking that. Many individuals believe that a poet pens down his/her personal thoughts, feelings, and past or present life in his/her poem. They don’t see any way it could be useful or helpful to them.
However, you can grow and develop yourself if you open your mind to understanding what poetry can do to you. Read on to find out.
Know yourself: Poetry can appear to be sad or happy, dark or positive, and hopeless or hopeful. Sometimes, you may find a poem as the description of an event in the poet’s life, which may actually not be the case. At another time, you may find the same poem as the description of an event in your own life. Similarly, you may find the poet’s perspective very different from your perspective on the poem’s subject. All this happens because you and your environment are unique, yet you share similar emotions, feelings, experiences and more with other humans. Poetry helps you know your real personality by the way you react to the words of someone else.
Explore your inner self: It is not only about your overt personality but you may also explore your core through poetry. I have seen readers who start interpreting a poet’s thoughts and life as soon as they read their poetry. However, a poet may pen down a poem for any purpose, to explain any concept/thought, to express their experience in any manner, and to tell their own or someone else’s story in any context. It is very complex to arrive at an exact understanding of a poet through his/her poem. Moreover, how does that knowledge add to a reader’s own growth and development? A better use of poetry is for exploring your own inner self.
Stir your core: Reading poetry is highly enriching. There are several things that may be taboo in your family, society, community, etc. Poetry is so versatile that it can break all such taboos and bring to your mind’s surface all the emotions, feelings or perspectives that you’d never share in your real life, with people around you. This is because you may not want to create a negative or rebellious image of yours. With poetry, you can actually stir that suppressed subconscious and unconscious that you’ve been carrying in your head. It gives a release/clearance to your true emotions and any negativity. When you get rid of that, you turn to be more positive, humble, compassionate, understanding of others, and energized. You start moving beyond what was blocking your growth and development as a human. You become more open and accepting of your and others’ thoughts and feelings, because you become aware of a world that’s similar to who you are.
Grow and develop your soul: When you read a variety of poetry, you explore a variety of experiences, stories, and people! Sitting on your couch, you gain the deepest understanding of the universe and the souls inhabiting it. You learn about cultures, rituals, boundaries, actions, nature, heart and soul, and what not! It may or may not resonate with you all the time, but it gives you an understanding of psychology. It’s like looking at an abstract painting and deriving your own meaningful picture from it. The purpose is not to understand an artist’s life and mind but your own! Release your emotions and leave negative traits in a painting, a poem. Believe me; you won’t get empty inside. You will glow with an inner light to take you on a path of growth so you may reach the next destination of your soul.
Go on…success is waiting for your self-actualization. Break your boundaries, know your soul, enrich your self, and light up your life with joy. (Poetry = Joy)