We all have lived through moments when ideas, thoughts, and feelings seem to rush forth from deep within us under mostly unforeseen circumstances, and sometimes in unexpected places. During those fleeting instants of inspiration we experience unique feelings of "high," that unless captured promptly will never come back, or at best, may resurface in a different guise, and not with the same freshness and power. They are fragile and perishable. It would be an irreparable loss if we failed to fix them permanently on paper (or in our word processor), for our short-term memory is unable to store them for long periods.

Song Viet-Dam Giang knows that in the short of span of our life, there are concerns that claim our attention to the exclusion of others, so that a great deal of our potential lies dormant and unproductive. What if we gave a little more attention to these other activities of our heart and mind that have little to do with the run-of-the-mill things we do routinely to survive, yet have just as a salutary effect on our overall quality of life? What if we attached a bit more importance to these other activities that are removed from materialistic pursuits, and cherished them as part of the fabric of everyday living, and not as an idle luxury that we cannot afford? What if we decided that those thoughts and feelings are an expression of our deep inner self (which they are), and deserve a place in our existence as much as food and shelter do?

Then we will come to appreciate Song Viet-Dam Giang's exhortation for it is her experience that life can be enriched and made quite rewarding when we let our inner thoughts and feelings claim a voice in our behavior. So many of these get repressed and forgotten as they are never pressing enough, or demanding enough to be externalized. Song Viet-Dam Giang believes we need a conscious and overt effort to bring these thoughts and emotions to life.

Some of us think of repressing certain thoughts out of a sense of prudishness or morality because they may be inappropriate, or too racy, too rank, or too risqué. There are sensitivities to soothe, objections to mitigate, and expectations to meet, and by the time these concerns are addressed, creativity withers, inspiration expires, and a void fills the creative mind. Our poet says, write those thoughts down before they vanish. Worry nothing about extraneous issues, let the pen do its job freely while your mind and heart are excited and filled with the fever of creation.