Journaling
Here’s all of the notes that I made on journaling before starting this topic:
Journals are fun.
As you can tell, I really put preparation at the highest priority. Especially when it comes to preparing to write in my blog, which is a public extension of my journal.
And if the sarcasm hasn’t turned you away yet, here’s why I don’t prepare to journal. I’m writing from the creative parts of my mind, rather than the logical part that I spend all day working in. (I’m a programmer, after all. Yes, a lot of it is creative, but it is also a highly logical discipline.)
The reason why I’m writing about journaling on Wednesday, which I have reserved for topics on peace, is because writing in a journal has helped me to increase my peacefulness dramatically. It does this two ways: It helps me to keep myself accountable, without the stress of someone on the outside holding me to their standards. It also helps me to identify some of my more hidden, abstract thoughts, and work them into more concrete concepts.
Actually, journaling is quite simple. You simply find something to write on and write with. I use my laptop for my private journal, and this web site for public journaling. If I could write faster by hand, I would probably use paper and a pen, but the editing capabilities and speed of the computer make it my medium of choice. Other than having the materials on hand, there is nothing else required, including any preparation.
Sometimes preparation helps, such as when you’re writing something that you want to show to others. It most certainly isn’t required, though. When you’re journaling for yourself, preparation could even be a detriment, since you aren’t being as creative as you could be.
The hard part of journaling is making it a habit. Like many other activities, it is the time that you put into practice that really matters, rather than the final results. (Yes, each and every one of my posts are what I consider practice. I’m not certain what I’m practicing for, but it is getting more and more clear as I go.) Don’t worry about the last entry that you’ll write when you’re an ‘expert;’ the artistic masters very rarely have only one masterpiece. Don’t worry about the mistakes that you made in previous posts, simply acknowledge them and learn from them. Concentrate on what you are writing now, just as a person learning to play the piano concentrates on the notes in front of them.
I have noticed that many people in my audience have blogs of their own… Thank you, each of you, for allowing me to practice for you, and thank you each for the kind words that you have said to me and written about me. I wouldn’t be nearly as effective at journaling if I didn’t have an audience to work for.
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