I wonder what instills some of us with a passion to write. When I was about 9 years old, I tried writing a book with a mysterious plot that involved a cave and a man with no name. Unfortunately, the pages of my tablet didn't get filled and my ambitious attempt went kaflooey. In my late teens I started writing in a diary and kept that up for 25 years, and then I graduated to journaling in simple spiral notebooks that I bought for 10 cents right before school started. The diaries we buy in the stores are so confining, and I do not like boundaries. Even in my spiral notebooks I write in the margins, just because they bug me.
Journaling helps me work my way through problems, think things through, and simply get my head organized. Now that there's such a thing as Blogging, well, I feel I've earned my Ph.D. in Journaling. My gramma kept a diary for years, and it is with sadness that they magically disappeared after she died. Oh, what I'd give to read her thoughts, cares, and feelings. Maybe it's for the best, who knows.If anyone is interested in starting to journal, but is apprehensive, I have a cool way to start out that doesn't require anything more than a pen and a spiral notebook. Handwritten journaling brings out better writing in me than typing for whatever reason. I think it's because it takes me longer to write and my head has a chance to think ahead. But, there's no right or wrong way to journal. It's as individual as our fingerprints. The way to start out is to have a guide to follow and each day finish the sentence with as much writing as you want:
Outside my window.......
I am thinking.......
I am thankful for......
From the kitchen.....
I am wearing......
I am creating......
I am going.......
I am reading.....
I am hearing.....
Around the house.....
One of my favorite things.....
Plans for the rest of the week.....
This outline is all one needs to start out with, and each day we have new thoughts to write for each of these. It doesn't take long before we expand our journaling ability and soon we're writing about many different things. Then we're hooked. And, it doesn't need to be fancy either. Many of my journals had sketches, doodling, cross-outs, and just whatever I felt like putting on paper. Not only does this get to be an outlet for our emotions, but can end up being a priceless gift for children, grandchildren, or anyone who may love us enough to want to read them someday after we turn into mulch. Or, the journals can simply be burnt or thrown away. I must enter the confessional here and tell that a few years ago when life was relentlessly throwing big rocks at me, I boxed up and destroyed all my diaries and all of my handwritten journals. I'm talking about years and years of writing. That's okay, tho, and I truly don't regret doing it, simply because my journals contained feelings that served no purpose by being passed on. That's the cool part of journaling. It's personal, it's individual. Journaling helped me work my way through terribly difficult times. Plus, I saved a heck of a lot of money by not going to a shrink.
Around our house my ten-cent spiral notebooks have gotten to be a joke. There's a stack of 'em downstairs, and they're laying around the house in every room, the car, and the patio. Cuz, when/if I get an idea or something strikes me as being a real 'wow,' then I jot down notes to myself so I won't forget. The funny part is that it's almost time for the back-to-school sales!!!!!
It's another gorgeous day today. The moon was big and bright last night. I should do something constructive today, but really don't feel like it. I'd give anything if the boyfriend would suggest a day trip. Maybe I'll have to drop a couple of hints and see where it takes us. Ta-ta.