It is a mistake to imagine that writers are experts on the things they write about

From the preface to The Active Life A Spirituality of Work, Creativity, and Caring by Parker J. Palmer:

It is a mistake to imagine that writers are experts on the things they write about—at least, it is a mistake in my case! I write about things I am still wrestling with, things that are important to me but that I have not yet figured out. Once I master something, I put it behind me. I lose the passionate curiosity that writing a book requires. I write to explore vexing questions and real dilemmas, to take myself into territories I have never seen before in hopes of understanding myself and the world a bit better.

Wow. That’s exactly how I write, why I write. I just figured there was something wrong with that. That I somehow ought to straighten out my thinking before writing. That nobody would care about my wrestling with getting to truth, with discovering my own truth.

Perhaps it doesn’t have to be that way. Perhaps there’s hope and value in sharing my path of discovery.

Thanks to Jerry Colonna for the link to the book.