Writing is good for the soul – journaling as a tool

poppies
4/2012

...the details of our days do make a difference in our lives...no experience is ever just for drill...everything can be a springboard for inspiration if we are willing to be open to the goodness of life. - Sara Ban Breathnach

Recently I was talking with a friend and the topic came up about feeling frustrated about life and not having an outlet to express it.

I suggested writing a journal, painting or drawing. I think these modes of expression can have a way of calming the mind, relaxing and shifting one’s energy.  It does for me.  I find writing self-healing.

Putting pencil or pen to paper and letting all thoughts in our head escape creates a space for solutions: just reflecting on the words written down gives a moment’s pause to think about what we are dealing with or not dealing with.  It can give a perspective; distance us a little from the situation. And if we are lucky we can find a solution or two.

For me, there is something cathartic about writing.  I love the way words come out on paper.  The words have a magic I have created by choosing how I place them.

Words are powerful, they create images, tell stories, express a feeling, thought, emotion.

Words choose how one relates an experience. What is the tone of the words: are they happy, sad, angry, frustrated, clear, unclear…..

When I go back and read some of what I have written sometimes I remember what I was talking about, sometimes it takes me a few minutes to remember what was happening.

When my son’s were little I started journals for them.  I would write about what was happening at the age they each were at.  Those are my favorite journals.  For a while I did really well, but then life just got too busy.  Now I periodically update them.  I hope when they are grown men they will enjoy having my memories of their childhood.

Now I write from a biographical point of view: what is happening in my life and how I feel about it, more of a chronicle of my journey.

I have developed this habit of writing: what’s happening in my life, to do lists, mantras to get me through: for today, tomorrow, the rest of my life, writing it down empties a space in my head to think up more things.

farmer's market flowers
5/2012