Of writers and their bosses

Of writers and their bosses

June 07, 2016
Hala Al-Qahtani
Hala Al-Qahtani



Hala Al-Qahtani
Al-Sharq

Even if you try to avoid conflicts, a time will come when you will be pushed into one. If it was your destiny then face it with courage because some conflicts do not accept failure. Running away from confrontation to avoid a clash would not be the principle of life always. Some issues are likely to become complicated if we try to ignore or underestimate them.

Human mind is so strong that there is no limit for its power and progress.

With the support of internal light it can break a path to reach superior levels. A person will be able to achieve his objective or succeed in his cause through determination and hard work, even if it is huge or complicated. He should not leave the matter in the middle, expecting it would be solved automatically. Everyone has to pay a price or put his maximum efforts to achieve what he wants.

Most writers are inspired by the difficulties and sufferings they face in life as they encourage them to write and express their views despite the lack of freedom and unsuitable environment. They will think of ways to brighten their path and of others even if it was dark or gloomy. Human brain has the ability to be creative under difficult circumstances, using available opportunities and venues.

The pressures of life will not prevent a man from building his dream city and plant trees on its borders. The plants will then grow and flourish to provide their fruits in all seasons providing him an atmosphere to lead a happy and prosperous life. He will enjoy the loneliness of his choice and will have reasons for not opening the city’s door to others and here lies the enjoyment.

But when a writer becomes upset and falls into a well of depression he will lose control of himself and will not be able to catch the lifeline thrown to him. He then finds himself sinking deep into the well, and instead of looking for ways to escape he will be battling with the shock of losing the meaning of life. He fails to float longer on the surface of water, not because he does not know how to swim but because he wanted to become a prey of pain.

A writer’s relationship with writing begins in a moment like any love story and it deepens with the passage of time but will not end like the conventional end of love because it remains an eternal relationship that is closely attached to his name, identity and personality. During this relationship he tries to hide his pains and express the worries of others. He tries to keep away from the blazing region but whenever comes close it rages inside his mind.

The writer then allows himself to walk through difficult terrain to have new experience. Some of the facts leave him in a kind of disbelief because of its frightening condition and he suspects himself, his eyes and senses. He understands that it is a reality that nobody can ignore. A writer will be extremely cautious while reporting such frightening realities selecting words with extreme care.

The happiest writer, in my view, is the one who works independently without any bosses. He will not be asked by the superior officer to give a reason for what he wrote last night or the intention behind the headline of his article. The independent writer need not be bothered about the taste or mood of his boss and the latter’s suspicious look during meetings. Most bosses are afraid that their columnists would go against them because they know they are bad.

In my professional life I have met hundreds of bosses. Some of them looked tense and worried when they discover that I am a columnist, not because of any particular reason but because of something they hide in their minds and nobody knows what they hide. The feeling of being threatened pushes them to find some issue in order to create a problem and threaten me with.

Some bosses will come out of their silence to tell the next day that they have understood every word I have written in the article to show his ability to read and interpret the inner meaning of words. The situation will be worse when the writer works under an ignorant boss who believes that reading books is a waste of time and then he lectures about something outside the meeting’s agenda before switching on to the subject of the victory of his favorite football team.


June 07, 2016
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