A reflective piece on creating a journal, becoming self-aware, and noticing what is already here.
This isn’t about writing everything down, it's about presence.
Read slowly, or return when it feels right.
Blank paper; lined paper, squared paper, you choose.
But please go back to paper? Put the phone down, you don't need another App! (I'm working on it too - mobile addiction is rife everywhere - we don't judge over here!)
Technology keeps us constantly stimulated, and that level of input can be overwhelming.
Using paper and a pen puts you into a position of focus. It pushes your mind to work with the fine motor skills of your hands to create script. Basically, write your thoughts down. Take them out of your head and put them onto the page in front of you.
They may be triggering in the mind - overwhelming, even, but getting them out onto a page - I've found - is a beneficial way to start processing any underlying feelings that have perhaps been neglected or avoided.
You don't need to write it all down and get to fixing everything straightaway - that's just not possible. You'd be using a pen, not a magic wand! Learning to be gentle and patient with yourself is your first priority. The fixing of things is a gradual, persistent process; requiring accountability and practice.
If it suits you, try a few minimal lists or set small achievable daily targets - nothing fancy, just small things to keep you accountable. And if you give yourself too many? Oh well, turn the page and make the list smaller, and more realistic.
Try not to get carried away with what-ifs and I-should-haves or make-it-aesthetics. Journaling is an individual process that you can learn from and add to as you go. Be gentle with yourself: start with basic and attainable functionality. If it gradually grows beautiful, great. If it goes no farther than plain but it works for you, there's your win.
Learn about yourself, there is no comparison for journaling. Individual and unique: make yours work how you need it to work, for you.
I have kept a journal in some format or another for as far back as I can remember. I wasn't always consistent and it wasn't always pretty. Practicality is the journal's purpose. The fluffing up aesthetic part comes later (or never, if you'd prefer).
I've had lined notebooks; blank sketchbooks; even squared math paper, stapled together! - I tried so many different types to find a journal base that suited my everchanging style, I also lost my focus to a sticker collection at one time. The journaling wasn't always pretty, but it done the job!
I have comfortably settled on hardback dot-grid, with thick pages and maximum creative colourful potential. And only occasionally use stickers, now. But, that's just my opinion. What works for me may not work for you, so I will always encourage you to try out different styles and types. Find what suits you: go slow, we're curious and human, so explore and have a little fun with it.
Over time, I lost old journals or threw them away as I 'outgrew' their contents. Until last year, I hadn't even considered reading through them: but that in itself (reading them back) is a mindful experience; eye-opening, even.
After reading, retreating into deep reflection and inner work, I done a most freeing thing; one I never thought I'd ever do as a stationery-geek: I destroyed them. Old journals that held so much emotional and physical trauma and negativity. They expressed and held darker parts of me that I had refused to look at; the pieces of myself I had compressed, denied and neglected. Honestly?; keeping all that on a shelf wasn't exactly helping my vibe.
It wasn't an overnight fix either - I took a long time working through those: feeling; learning about myself and my relationships; learning about my perspective and other possible perspectives. One thing I will note, from experience is this: your perspective is your own, you cannot force it onto another; and you cannot fully see or understand another's perspective (everyone feels differently).
What you can do, is provide a safe, supportive and trustworthy space for healthy communication and support. Journaling can become that safe space. A place to notice, to gently question, and to meet yourself honestly. You don't need perfection. Just presence.
Add comment
Comments