Journaling for YourSelf
Approximate average reading time is 5 minutes.
Several years ago, Beverly suggested that I journal as a way of letting go. I thought it was a good suggestion, but that good idea seemed to drift into the ether. Sometime later my brother told me that his daughter bought him a leather-bound journal for Christmas. It was his favorite gift that year. He told me that with the New Year he had started journaling almost every day. It’s a habit that he continues to this day. He does it old school: pen and paper. It served as a reminder. Perhaps it was time for me as well. I’ve been journaling now for about two years, and, like my brother, I do it almost every day. Unlike my brother, I do it electronically.
There was a time when journaling was common, a habit of many, many people. In fact, it dates back centuries in both Eastern and Western cultures and has been used to document everything from the most mundane to the most personal of thoughts and feelings to the extraordinary impact that current events can have on an individual.
I can be sentimental. I admit that. And, sentiment can distort reality. I’m aware of that as well. They weren’t perfect people, but perhaps one of my favorite examples of journaling is President James Garfield and his wife Lucretia. Their upbringings were very different. He was known for his active, passionate nature. She was very reserved, maybe even perceived as cold. At some point in their relationship, James became concerned about their future. He didn’t know how to reach Lucretia. He was unsure of her feelings and then she shared her journal, that place where she wrote down her truest feelings, with him. That marriage, that love though rocky at the start grew into a strong and deep relationship, and her journal was the catalyst that moved them forward.
The point of my history lesson: journals reflect our truest most honest selves. They are not intended to be published or read. They are for us. They are a mechanism for us to sort through our thoughts and our feelings. A way for us to think through what has happened to us and how we feel about it.
So, where to start if you are new to journaling:
1. Keep it simple.
There are all kinds of journals: personal, reflective, travel, food, business, etc., etc. I consider mine a personal journal, and it’s a reflective one. I write about whatever is happening around me and my observations. If my feelings have been hurt, or I feel I’ve not been treated fairly my journal gives me the chance to examine it. To turn it over in the palm of my hand and consider it from all the angles. I admit that I’ve been known to rant, but I also use my journal to write about the simplest joys. For example, my great niece just turned four. She shines and sparkles in the very best of ways, so she shows up in my journal.
I love good food, and I like to experiment with new recipes so that, too, shows up. The fabulous corn risotto I made over the weekend or the very first tomato sandwich of the summer season. I grew up on a dairy farm so you guessed it, the weather is recorded as well, particularly when it’s influencing my moods.
2. Don’t over think it.
Don’t let the thought of journaling overwhelm you. Pick your medium. Paper and pen or iPad and just do it. A blank page should not be scary. Fill it with whatever you see or feel or need to process. Don’t worry about a misstep in your writing. Don’t worry about finding the perfect word. Don’t worry about your sentence structure. For heaven’s sake, don’t worry about your punctuation. Just get it down, whatever it is, on paper.
Let’s see now. You can write about the sun, the moon, the smell of the air on a walk, the first perfect leaf of fall, the first buds of spring—all these are worthy of your journal. Write about how you feel in church, or how you feel when sitting down to dinner with friends or family, or how a movie or a book or a piece of music makes you feel, or your vacation. It doesn’t matter—all these are worthy of your journal.
Here’s what I have learned. If I let my thoughts flow down to paper in a free stream of consciousness fashion, I sometimes lean back realizing how I honestly feel about something, how precious the moment is, and how to let go when that’s needed, too. I guess in the end, it’s about getting to know yourSelf! Do it for the best possible reason. Do it for you.
