Journaling - “One Sketch A Day”
My first ever diary was a Hello Kitty diary at age 10. I had no idea what people wrote in diaries, but I immediately took to the idea that it was meant only for my eyes. It felt like an invitation to write some of my deepest secrets. I don’t know that I ever wrote anything too deeply profound or intense back then, but it kicked off a lifetime of journaling for me, and it became the safe space I needed to express however I might be feeling on a given day.
For years, I would journal in spiral notebooks, piling them up in the closet after I filled each to the brim with pages and pages of the events of my adult life. In fact, journaling became a serious tool for me to focus my energy whenever I would experience panic attacks. Sitting and writing helped me to purge the negative thoughts from my head and onto paper. The act of writing soothed me most of the time.
Through this anxious phase in life however, I began to see my journal writing as repetitive and I was annoyed with how stuck I felt in life. It seemed to me like I was complaining about the same things over and over, which was definitely the case. I had many unresolved issues I had never fully dealt with, and a growing panic disorder.
Journaling suddenly felt very frustrating and not the emotional nor soothing outlet it once had been in the past. And just like that, I let go of a lifelong journaling practice.
Several years back I was reintroduced to the importance of journaling using it as a tool for yoga and meditation practices. It was a different approach to journaling and proved to be a more purposeful and productive direction for me. I now keep a journal close by during meditation in case there are any impressions I need to scribble down after a meditation sitting.
Thoughts arise when I meditate, emotions bubble up, and knowing I have a journal by my side to capture those details when I am done, helps me stay in the meditation.
Coming back to the practice of journaling even opened my love for writing again as well. If you wish to create a journaling practice of your own there are several ways to get started. Perhaps you are unsure about writing in general, or you have a harsh inner-critic who judges your every written word, I highly suggest free writing to purge all the clutter that collects in your mind. Even if you begin by writing one word over and over, eventually your brain frees up and more fluid thoughts, ideas and words come forward.
The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron is an immensely helpful guide in re-connecting to your creative Self using practices such as writing The Morning Pages. Commit yourself to writing three pages every morning no matter what! Even if it’s nonsense and repetitive, it’s the act of writing that matters. You don’t read what you’ve written afterward, simply move on with your day. You would be surprised at how cathartic and freeing this practice can be.
There are also many journals available with prompts which can be very useful if the idea of a blank page is daunting. Being You, by Elena Brower and What’s Your Story?: A Journal for Everyday Evolution by Rebecca Walker and Lily Diamond are a few that I own. These journals offer not only great guided prompts, but they are both wonderful tools for a real self-discovery journey.
Many years ago, I gave my grandma a visual journal as a gift. It was titled “One Sketch A Day”. She was an artistic person painting and drawing throughout her life. She even shared her love of painting by teaching a painting class at the local college for adults for many years.
When she passed away, my aunt sent me a care package of some of my grandmother’s things including the sketch journal I had gifted her. It turns out my grandma had been steadily filling in each day with personal sketches. Each little sketch she drew reflected a life event, her mood or an emotion, a good or bad day, a doctor visit, a meal she had with friends, a book she was reading again. It is such a treasure of mine as it happened to be the last year of her life captured in her own daily sketches.
There are hardly any written words in the journal, mostly drawings, and not all the drawings were masterpieces. Yet when thumbing through those pages, it’s so clear that what she drew was personal and a true reflection of her journey that year. Proving there are many ways to practice journaling and you should find whatever way suits you.
No matter how you choose to journal, the prize is going back and reflecting on your pages much later and witnessing all the growth and development in your life. Even when I felt stuck and repetitive in my journal, looking back now I’m able to see I was making small steps towards improving my life. I just couldn’t see it at the time. Hopefully over time, through documenting your own thoughts and feelings on paper, you will have the pleasure of recognizing your growth, and perhaps unlocking a deep connection to your truest, sweetest Self.