The Gift of Journaling

I have a deep love for what journaling offers writers. I have been putting pen to page since I can remember. But not on a schedule. 

For the past several months I have been using a book to propel me in my writing growth. Its basic instruction is to write every morning. This era of my life is not that sort of “quiet invitation” mode with tea and a cozy blanket. It’s more, “ 5 calendars, triple highlighters, too many cars in the driveway era.” So, I had to make a commitment. I adjusted my routine and prioritized the appointment with myself.

The Way the Pages Feel

Starting with the kind of notebook I wanted my writing to come home to, I thought of a particular notebooks I used over the years. How the pages “felt” when my pen was gliding across with thoughts coming out fast or when I was I merely making a list and scribbling it out. I started a research project on that kind of paper. I ordered one and tried to ‘make do’ with a lesser notebook as it shipped out. There was delays and I didn’t get the notebook when I expected and then I got  a ‘jot a grocery list’ size one to my dismay. 

So, I trekked off to the local stationary store and threw away the preferences and just picked out one with wide lines and got started. Maybe someday I will find that paper and rejoice. Ultimately, putting the words down became something to cherish as the habit took root.

Creativity

The book, as an outsider to myself, my pen and my page, was what I needed to begin. What happened to me in the space of writing was akin to falling in love. The looking forward to the moments, the anticipation of what I would experience, the grace of feeling known in the world. The assignment was to fill three pages and as I would turn the final page, it was wistful. Just as when you are in deep love, it is bittersweet to part. And the joy of that last page is also in knowing the paper was there whenever I needed.

Presence

At the heart of our note taking or stream of consciousness is our inner artist trying to burst forth with some way to make the path less dark or cobwebby. Journaling is this tool. Its also a steadfast listener and excited partner to our stumbles and explosions of ideas and new life. You are never truly alone in this exercise. The invisible presence in the midst of the tangle or spark is there to guide and illuminate.