The quality of my hub content

I am one of those writers whom write simply for the sheer joy of writing. I know that it may sound a bit self-centered, but I write for my own pleasure and not that of the reader. I write about things which interest me and in doing so I hope that it will also interest and engage the reader. I have never been able to write about things which I do not feel passionate about. I think that with writing, just as with any other form of art, the passion of the artist needs to shine through, or why do it at all?

Years ago I had the pleasure of befriending an artist. Although he was a great friend and neighbor, he was a horrible painter. I can say in all honesty that there was not a single piece of art which he had painted that I would have given a single dime for. This man was very passionate about his art however. His love for painting not only showed on every line of his face but also with every stroke of his brush. When he painted in public, it was as if watching a beautiful bird in flight. The love for his art came from a very deep place down in his soul, and painting was his way of expressing that love. He had never set foot inside an art school, nor did he care to!

Every day when he arrived home from his regular job, I could hear him singing along to Frank Sinatra as he put the latest touches on his canvas. In the years we were friends and Neighbors; it never once crossed my mind to say a negative word about his paintings. Who was I to cretic the one thing in life which bought him so much joy and pleasure? I was not neither Pablo Picasso, nor Vincent Van Gogh. Mine was but a single perspective in a world of millions. It was not for me to stifle anyone's creative outlet.

Since he first moved in, not a single day had passed when I had not heard old blue eyes belting out how much he loved New York, New York and ol Man River. Envision my concern when I had not heard a sound coming from his home for an entire weekend. Early Monday morning as I was having breakfast I was distracted by loud voices and hammering coming from my Neighbors yard. When I went to the window I noticed that a ‘house for sale’ sign was being placed in his front lawn. When I opened my front door, my painter friend ran over with a huge smile on his face and great joy in his eyes. He informed me that he had been commissioned to paint a 500 foot mural on the side of a very famous hotel. Since it would take him months to finish the project, they would pay him for his art and his residency at the hotel for the duration of the project. The job paid so handsomely in fact, that he would now be able to live out his lifelong dream.

After he sold his home, I didn't see him again until the day he stopped by to say his last farewells on his way out of town. He now lives in the Florida Keys, and spends his days painting on the beach, listening to Sinatra. Till this very day one of his paintings hangs in my living room. It has been a constant reminder through the years to never discourage anyone. Despite how bad they might be, encouragement need always be given to those doing something which they love and enjoy. You never know how far it will take them!

Since joining hub pages I have come to the realization that I am much like my painter friend when it comes to my writing. I joined hub pages because I needed a canvas. I have never taken a writing course in my life nor do I want to. I do not want someone to stifle my creativity by telling me how to express it. I find that when using a spell checker, at least thirty percent of my words are spelled wrong and/or I have commas in the wrong places. There are times when I have proof read my hubs after they have been published for days only to find missed errors. I don't want to be perfect, I want to be happy and experience joy. Writing brings me that joy, much like I'm sure it does for other hubbers in this community. It brings much pleasure even if it isn't done good. (Or is that done well?) I don't think anyone would be here if they did not enjoy it.

It upsets me muchly to see fellow members cutting down hubs or hubbers it saddens me to think of how many aspiring writers will give up writing and stop doing something which might have bought them a lifetime of joy simply because of a few neigh sayers who believe that they are God's gift to the writing community.

(I realize that the previous was a run on sentence, and words were made up, but I still got my point across to you didn't I?)

The last time I checked I still lived in a free country with freedom of speech, not freedom of speech unless you don't know how to spell or use commas! This is a "community" which means that we need to support and encourage one another’s creativity. Cutting down someone does not make you look smarter; it makes you look petty and small. If an individual’s writing bothers you that much, than don't read it! I don't recall reading anything in the sign up agreement when I joined the hub community which stated that I had to be a scholar, or did I miss something in the fine print?

I believe that everyone has a right to follow their bliss in life, whatever that might be, or however badly they might go about doing it. I can assure you that at the end of my days I will only be remembered for my kindness and service to others. I know for a fact that no one attending my funeral will comment on the fact that I was a wonderful person but I never put my commas in the right place.

The hub pages are not only a place to write articles. As a newbie I see it as a sanctuary for start-up writers such as myself to gather and be mentored. A safe place to remove the words from of our head, and post them for others to see. Each writer and story as unique as their own DNA. How sad it would be to allow an agitating few to disrupt that sanctuary. Even sadder yet, is for those few to be left with only their own stories to listen to because of their holier-than-thou attitudes. In closing, I feel that I only have one thing to say to these individuals; stop smearing my damn canvas!