I think, therefore I write.

I think, therefore I write.

Writing is the body; thinking is the soul. Before any word finds its way onto the page, it is conceived in thought—silent, unseen, but powerful. This piece explores the profound connection between thinking and writing, drawing on the philosophical insights of René Descartes to demonstrate that it is not writing that defines us, but the thinking behind it. To understand the essence of true expression, we must first understand the mind that births it.

I think, therefore I am. 

People err when they ask me, “Why can’t I stop writing?” The question they should be asking is Why can’t I stop thinking? Because, before I write it, I have to think about it. Stop my thoughts, and my writing will be stopped as well.

Just like René Descartes (dubbed the father of modern Western philosophy), I also believe thinking defines my existence and that the moment one stops thinking will be the very moment one stops existing. Descartes doubted everything that existed. He realised that if he is doubting, then he is thinking; hence, one thing he cannot doubt is the fact that he exists and that he is thinking (doubting). Thus, he concluded that he exists as a thinking being—a mind. This led to his famous declaration: “Cogito, ergo sum”—“I think, therefore I am.”

Thinking is the soul of my writings. It is the breath that transforms my writing into a living craft. If I write, it is because I think. Take away my thoughts, and my writings will be lifeless because they lack the thinking soul that keeps them alive. As for my thoughts, they cannot be seen directly because they are immaterial. But it becomes visible when it takes the form of written words. Writing is the body; thinking is the soul. In this sense, I am also an idea that lives through the body of writing.

Beloved, let me be sincere: I do not write to project some lofty image of myself. Whatever impact my writing may have is simply a byproduct of my thinking, which is the true essence of my existence. My writings are only the shadow; the reality is my thought.