As a child, I remember it being fashionable to have a diary, a place where we could record our dreams and fears, our observations of the world. Mine was a little white one with a key that I kept hidden safely away. Those words were for my eyes alone. That was the purpose of a diary, after all, and heavens forbid anyone were to read its secrets.
During certain periods of my life, when times were difficult and I needed a safe outlet, I would again write my secrets in a journal. These writings were usually intense and full of emotion. Sometimes the writing would seem automatic, inspired and spiritual. My pen could barely keep up with the words that spilled out. At other times I wrote of the special, precious moments that life offered, and was thankful to relive them while writing..
Recording our thoughts helps us nurture a relationship with our Self and inner world. It is like having a personal friend or therapist always there, ready to mirror back an unbiased glimpse of ourselves. We can unload "unfinished business" and it will be our silent witness. Just the act of writing down our experiences and feelings helps us to process them and get a second, neutral look. We may gain a new perspective on the situation.
Rereading our earlier writings helps us get to know different parts of ourselves. It serves as a record of our unfolding lives with all its joys and sorrows. We will notice patters and cycles and how much we have matured, changed and remained the same. It serves as a reminder for the wondrous times we've experienced. For the darker days, rereading makes it evident that this too shall pass and that we can come out of it refined by the fire.
At a friend's home, I was introduced to another type of journaling. For years, her mother has kept a daily record of what many would consider life's most mundane things. She shares what Johnny had for lunch, the weather, her feelings, what she did and talked about that day. There are detailed descriptions of the family dinner and who was there to enjoy it. This book lies open on the kitchen counter for all to see. What caught my attention is that my friend considers these journals a family treasure, a record of their lives together.
If you have would like to explore the benefits of journaling, get yourself a beautiful (or handsome!) blank book that you will enjoy writing in. You may even like to dedicate a special pen for the purpose. Of course you can use your computer, but I do think there is something special about writing in a book with your own hand.
Explore different styles of writing. Allow yourself to write when experiencing different moods. One day write when you are feeling angry, another when you are inspired, perhaps another in a meditative state. You may even want to write a few entries with your non-dominant hand. Write yourself a question with your writing hand and answer with the other. You may be quite surprised by your response! Be real- hold nothing back. Then periodically reread some of your entries. You will be amazed by all you learn about yourself and your life. You may even find that there are a few entries you would like to share with your loved ones or even the world.
Val Silver lives in Northern New York near beautiful Lake Ontario. She is a reading recovery teacher and a holistic health practitioner/coach. She specializes in the Emotional Freedom Technique and Vibrational Remedies that help you release negative emotions and tap into your unlimited potential. You can read more about Val and contact her through her website. http://www.tapinfinity.com
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Hi! You are so right! Thanks for sharing the idea about a "family journal", I am going to give it a shot. No one else in my family likes to write much, but maybe they will go for this. Friends that pop over can sign it too! Thanks again! God bless! Teresa
this was a very well written, interesting article of which i agree whole heartedly. i know while going through these past two years in divorce, my writing saved my sanity and therefore, my health. thanks for sharing,
I hear you. I actually decided to burn the journals I wrote during some really dark days. First, I didn't want anyone to read them and second I treated the burning as a rite of closure. Some people turn these memoirs into books, but I'm a bit more private than that. Thanks for writing, VAL
Hi Walter, Thanks for commenting. I considered your question and noticed I weave some of my experiences into everything I wrote and submitted so far, but never wrote purely of those experiences. I guess I figured if I'm submitting articles this is something different? Thoughts?
I really enjoyed reading this article! I have tried journaling on and off for years, and not been very successful. This article makes me want to try again. Thanks!
Wonderful article and not only does one have a place to get things off one's mind or chest, it is often a chronicle of one's life and perhaps a family's historical heritage.
Tread the Earth Lightly and in the meantime May your day be filled with
Very well done Val! When I was in the service I kept a daily journal and now, maybe once a year or so, I read through it and the memories just come flooding back.
I guess that's the beauty of journaling. And I'd much rather read an article written with passion and mistakes, than one that's perfectly written and dry. Besides, "beauty" is in the eye of the beholder, or shall I say, reader. Thanks for writing, VAL
Thanks, Val, for the encouragement to journal. It's been one of the key habits of my life. I even kept a diary/journal of my native country's civil war, from which I fled. Then I journalled during my stay at the refugee camp. Re-reading can be scary, though. ~mogama~
Wow- it sounds like you've had some incredible life experiences. I hope you share some of those entries with the rest of us. I'm joining your fan club so I can watch for those! Blessings, VAL
Beautifully well written. You have done a great job with this article, Val. I wish I had kept a diary when I was young, but I had four brothers and three sisters--no place for privacy.
Val, interesting article filled with truth. Although I never had a diary, I have journaled and it was especially healing during the time of my mother's death. Thanks for sharing this.
What a great article idea, thanks for writing it. I'm obsessed with journaling, and also collecting journals, like moleskine, or even just spiral bound notebooks if they're on sale.
Imagine, 500 years from now, an archaeologist digging and finding an internet cable or a server, and reviving the millions of blog journals that exist in the ethernet today? Won't happen, I don't think. Even if they could find a working outlet to plug those computers in, hard drives are volatile, those little metal oxide flakes move around over time. And CDs supposedly last for 200 years...only thing is, will they have a working cd-reader in the year 2508?
The hand-written journal, though, will be there! And I hope you're penmanship is good. Just look at the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library, if you don't believe me. 2,000 years, and we're still reading them!
How many do I have...A lot of spiral bounds, would have to weigh those in pounds. I recently disposed of about a hundred pounds of notebooks (I'm a reporter, most of it was meetings from small town politics, but I inadvertently threw away same precious documents, as well).
My journal journals, well, about a dozen or so. Different makes and models. Poetry, religion, philosophy, ramblings, adventures.
I really enjoyed this very inspiring article. Several years ago I discovered how comforting writing really can be. You're right, journals are a great place to release even those hurtful things we otherwise might say verbally, and I now recommend it to children who have suffered some type abuse. Thanks Val.
That is a very well written and true thing that you tell here dear Val, I myself write my thoughts since the age of eleven and could record how my thoughts really changed throughout the ages. This is what I always try to tell my friends and as many people as possible.
Good thoughts, Val. I don't remember having a diary, but for several years while the kids were growing up I wrote everything on the calendar. I had forgotten all about that. It served as a reminder for me and going back, I knew what was going on in our lives. In the last few years, I have attempted to keep a journal, but never seem to write unless I am discouraged. Maybe I should just write a weekly synopsis and leave it at that! Thanks for writing this.
Hi Lorrie, Thanks for writing. I like the calendar idea. If you use one of those day planners that give you a little more room it could serve as a calendar and a mini-journal. Sometimes they have blank pages in the back too. VAL
Ahhhhhh, yes, an article after my very own heart. I have been writing for decades and without it would be dead. Literally. When I was young, I went through severe depression. The only solace I found was in writing. It was those cathartic moments of insight and enlightenment that kept me sane and alive. I teach in my writing classes that many a good writer has said, "I don't know what I'm thinking until I write." The tool of writing is more valuable than the value of all commodities combined. Writing is used by people to show appreciation (Oprah's Gratitude Journal), to overcome addiction (AA uses it), to inquire into direction in one's life, to overcome debilitating disease, on and on. I am amazed by the insight and remembering of ideas that come to me when I write, ideas and insight that lead to healing, understanding, and knowledge that goes way beyond mere Jeopardy trivia. Great article.
Althouth I think the article was well written, the subject is not my cup of tea as I simply can never find the time to write a journal let alone write it well. However well done for the article.
You present very good arguments for keeping a journal. It's something I've gotten away from in the last few years and may have to take up again. And you are correct, taking a pen or pencil in hand is the best way to do it.
Thanks Dianne, I'd gotten away from it too. But when I need it, it's there. VAL Respond to this comment
» left by Avis Ward from SC (47 days 20 hours ago.)
Val, I feel as Dianne does. This article has encouraged me to try journaling . . . yet again. I have not been consistent. You've given compelling reasons why I should conquer any reason for not sticking to it this time. I have several handsome (lovely, nice, beautiful) journals about that are empty. I can 'look' the part but that's not enough. Thanks for the inspiration to try again. Respond to this comment
Nice article!! Very inspirational. Journals are good memories to keep. This article is very inciteful for someone wanting to keep a journal. Nice job!!
Thank you for writing this. I have been a sporadic journaller (sp?) through life but I find that I tend to journal most when I need to sort things out in my head or my life is very busy - when I was a teenager, when my children were small, etc. The writing helped me make sense and sort through the chaos. Very therapeutic!
My dad kept journals for years, more of the "almanac" style - weather, small happenings around the house and in his life. I think when he passes away, my siblings and I will probably "fight" over who gets them more than any money or earthly possessions he may leave us.
Thanks for your comments. Your dad's writings sound like my friend's mother. Yes, not sure of the spelling either one l or two. They both came up wrong on spell check. Guess journaling journalling is not really a word at all. VAL Respond to this comment
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