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| My Current Journal - A holiday gift last year and a place where I write my goals and notes. |
I write a lot.
I always have.
I actually still have a journal from age twelve. It's not the most beautiful thing in the world. Red, with a little, warn, brass lock and key...tattered binding and scribbled pages. It's here in my house somewhere...a closet maybe...and it might not be that important to me now, but that diary was my salvation when I was a teen.
I didn't feel like I could talk to my parents, and I had to get stuff out, so I wrote.
Journaling became my saving grace when I was an adult, too.
Going through tough times in my marriage/divorce with my 'X', I wrote like a fiend -and yes- I still have those journals too (they are buried and I have no plans of re-reading them...- well maybe I will prior to burning them someday-) they saved me. I had people to talk to then, including a therapist, but there was still so much that just spilled over. It had to go somewhere.
Since those days, I've had three children who need my time and as a busy parent I cannot always journal my thoughts and ideas, but I still write. Most of it is here, or my other two blogs, and in my parenting-book-to-be and my family column.
My writing seems as if it's transformed now, and is more for others than for me. The topics I choose to write about are things I hope others will benefit from...and I consider what others might be coping with or striving to do, though I almost always include something personal and of my own experience.
Visit all of the blogs that are being written now. Many of them are regular people who want to make sense of the world around them and want to share their beliefs and perspectives, as well as a little of their personality.
If you think about it, writing is a very intimate thing.
Hand writing (back in the day) was even more personal, and seems as if it is becoming extinct. (Cursive writing might possibly be phased out of schools.) This is sad, because someones handwriting cannot be duplicated, and no two people will ever think exactly alike or describe something the same way. Not only can you connect with someone from the past when they have died, but you can sort out your own life by writing.
Here are three ways that writing can help you too:
- Journaling can be therapeutic. At times when you do not understand something, it's good to write out the question... Read it and re-read it to yourself...sometimes you'll come up with the answer immediately. (That is usually your gut instinct talking to you.)
- When you're upset, journaling about it, or writing an angry letter (that you never intend to mail) can be an excellent way to channel anger - leaving you refreshed and calm. This is the wisest way to work out aggressive thoughts because it gets it all out of your head without making the mistake of saying something you will regret later.
- Writing down goals, journaling dreams, making plans in ink....all make things real.
- Problems become easier to break down when they are written out. It's also easier to dissect them to find out if A) they are really that big of a deal, B) how to tackle them.
- It can help your children learn more about you. If you leave a very personal connection behind for your family to read. (The book stores and Amazon are full of these types of journals where all you have to do is fill in the blanks with your answers.)
From experience, all of these things work. Many people will claim they despise writing. Those are the ones who should try it.
Get out a piece of paper and pen, and just start jotting down some thoughts.
There are many ways to express yourself...try writing...you might be surprised about what you find.
