Journaling for life, for reason, for therapy, there are no rules.
I partially answered why I journal in a previous post on Benefits Of Journaling. In this post I wanted to get a little more detailed on what journaling means to me.
Journaling is an escape; you might say its an addiction of sorts but there is no known cure or medication. Most of my journaling is used for clarity and healing. Let me see if I can explain and I must prefeace that journaling is not blogging. Although I’m sure a lot of people use blogs as journals but I’m just as certain they don’t really journal. Bloggers have an audience of many. Journalers usually have a audience of one, themselves. Sometimes the case may be that they have an audience of two but I think that may be very rare. Most people who journal will write as if nothing they write will be published or ever read by anyone else. I say most because I’m partially the exception. I also keep a separate journal on the life events of my kids and I think of it as something like a time capsule. I will allow them to read it when they’re past their teens.
I usually start my journaling in the morning. I like to say it’s the first thing I do but it’s not. My morning usually consists of getting ready for work before doing anything else. I’m not the kind of person who can get up and pray, meditate or even journal. I need to be completely ready for the day before I do anything. Journaling is usually the first on my list when I’m ready for the day. Some days I can write three of four pages and others maybe just a paragraph.
And so the question, why journaling? Do you ever just get completely overwhelmed by work, family, bills or just life? Of course, we all do. We all get overwhelmed and most of us have something to help us “cope”. Well this is just one of those mechanisms for coping.
Keeping a journal doesn’t mean you have to log everything that happens every day. I think of it more like a place to lay all of the issues of life, good and bad, out on paper to get a clear view of what may be overwhelming you. For me, this helps me analyze areas in my life that need attention. Or it may just help me get something out of my head or “off my chest”. I often use journaling as therapy to just vent certain challenges in my life. Actually, I find the latter to be the case more often than not. Think of it as a companion who will just listen.
I’ve only scratched the surface on journaling. How do you start you ask? Well, I prefer pen to paper and if you do I suggest you get a journal (Moleskine Cahier Pocket Plain Red Cover) and just start writing. If you prefer the digital method then I suggest you just start typing. It’s easy to start and there are no rules. I’d like to hear from you so leave me a note and tell me how you journal.
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