Why books can help you find your purpose

Sometimes books come into your life at the time you need them most. Whether it's to inspire a creative pursuit or to help you out of a dark time. Either way, I have found that in life, books have made their way to me at the most opportune time. This month, I’ve found it hard to focus on university assessments - but instead I’ve been drawn to texts out of sheer curiosity. It seems however, that within this lure of intrigue lies something deeper. These books have unlocked the blockage. They have opened the door to words I’ve been unable to conjure.

I read somewhere that before you begin writing anything, ideas lie wordless in your subconscious mind. After much marination, those abstract ideas form a physical manifestation on a page.

That is the most magical part about the creative process - giving an abstract idea a real form in words, paint or whatever your medium of creative expression.

I find this particularly interesting as I have spent so much of my writing career taking abstract instructions and ingredients from lost family recipes and those shared by ‘andaza’ (read more in my memoir Andaza) and creating a tangible recipe. Food writing itself is an art, and art inspires curiosity. It's why I’ve begun to explore other forms of writing. I am a firm believer in trusting your instincts to guide you towards your calling, and so I don’t regret this shift in writing focus. I am still very much tethered to culinary history, flavours and people’s stories.

It's ok to be many things at one time.

I struggle sometimes with the societal pressures of having to be one sort of writer. It feels like because once I am considered a food writer, I may never be taken seriously as a writer of another genre. When I find myself drowning in such quandaries, I also find myself drawn to books that dispel this commercial reality. And then I pen down ideas, thoughts that seem to resonate in those pages I read. I feel fortified by the belief that I’m happier writing what I’m meant to rather than supposed to.

One thing I have worked though is the need to conform. Writing is not always to share, sometimes its to grow. In the past I’ve stopped myself from writing because I thought, whats the point. The truth is, if I hadn’t just written what I felt like writing, I’d never has opened up a whole new world of storytelling. I have learnt that I am able to write more than just recipes and that pushing myself to indulge in narrative writing has allowed me to explore the creative writer I never imagined I could be. As for whether any of my other work will ever get published - well, it all comes down to how badly do I want it! I think once you determine what you want from your writing, you find the drive to make it happen. And it is drive like that, that can create space for your writing in this world.