Eudiamonia

The Greeks always seem to have had a word for everything. Eudiamonia is most often translated in English as happiness. For Aristotle and other ancient philosophers, it meant much more than a feeling or state of mind. It was the highest human good desired for its own sake. It is the essence of human flourishing

Writers call it The Zone. It is that place where we are lost in the story without a thought for what comes after we step away from the keyboard. It is writing for writing’s sake because writing is what we are born to do. In The Zone, channeling the story to print is life at its best.

Sadly, we are not always lost in The Zone. Unless we are writing for our eyes alone, writing demands more than typing out the story. It requires us to be evangelists, spreading the good news of our work at book signings, on podcasts, and in personal encounters with readers. Who hasn’t questioned why being forced to do all that is unfair? After all, we belong in The Zone, scribbling in a fever.

‘Tis true, writing is to be desired for its own sake. The Zone is bliss. It fills a spot in us that nothing else can. However, our own good hoarded in our own private storehouse is not the end of our divine design. Writing cries out to be read. Writers need readers. They complete our work more than money, fame, or awards.

Writers write in answer to our gift and calling. We read in answer to a duty to “do unto others”.

Jack LaFountain

Author of Bayou Moon, Blood Moon...et al.