"Everyone knows somebody that needs to read this book (Perseverance) !" –Kathie Lee Gifford, Live on NBC’s Today Show
"Perseverance offers… profound insight for all of us seeking to lead a meaningful life." –Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of A Whole New Mind
»More Reviews
Buy Perseverance
Pen & Paper: Journaling the Non-Beautiful
Welcome to this month’s Pen & Paper: Living Between the Lines written by the amazing Hope Wallace Karney. To learn more about Hope and the column, please check out the announcement post!
Journaling the Non-Beautiful
This past week on my blog, I did a post asking people if they had any journaling questions for me (feel free to pop over and ask anything you may want to know as well). I had expected people to ask more technical questions (i.e., what pens I use, what size journal I work in, etc.); however, the questions were more about how I journal, how much I journal and where I find inspiration. One question in particular prompted my Pen & Paper article for this month:
Where do you find inspiration on what to write about? As someone who journals mostly in situations where I am processing emotions, mostly difficult ones, I am wondering: Do you also keep a journal with everything “non-beautiful”, just for yourself?
I was really taken by this and wanted to talk a bit about how i journal, and perhaps hear how you fellow readers journal.
For me, I basically have just one main journal at a time. In it, I capture the good, the bad, the boring, the sad – all of it. I have found that in the past, if I have a journal with just “non-beautiful” stuff in it, when I go back to read it in the future I feel an assortment of emotions: sorry for myself, sadness, disappointment and embarrassment, to which I react by destroying the pages (although I do admit to saving a snippet here and there if I wrote something I thought was exceptionally profound).
Only since I started art journaling have I found a way to get my difficult emotions on the page. This helps me work through any issues I may be having, in a creative way, which helps soothe my surging emotions. The end result is one which I do not feel the need to rid the world of my entries when I look back on them.
A lot of times I will use a quote or song lyrics that resonates deeply with me at the time (either by the lyrics evoking the same feelings I am experiencing, or by the familiarity of the song that reminds me of the time in my life I am writing about, whether now or the past). I then write a little about how I am feeling. The thing is, I used to go into grave detail about my emotions. Explaining them to my journal as if it has not known me my entire life. Now I find I am a bit more ambiguous to my approach, only write down what I need to, no back story needed, no explanations.
Below, I have some journaling spread photos to share with you that are ones where I have incorporated actual journaling of issues, negative thoughts, sadness, etc. You will see in them that I tend to keep the deeper, darker journaling small, or hidden in envelopes, sub-pages, or somewhere unexpected (like the inside of a skirt). But these spreads are still my usual style, pleasing to the eye, not very different than my other spreads – one might not even notice the fact that I was sad, hurt, troubled, etc when I created it, but they do indeed capture the difficult emotions I am trying to process, come to terms with.
I do journal regularly, no matter my mood, and can always find something to journal about, even if it is just about the tail end of a movie we caught on television the other night or a fun string of words that particularly appeals to me which I read in a book.
I suppose this means I journal more to document, and tell my story, than to overcome any particular issues – encompassing all aspects of my life, the good, the bad and the ugly.
How do you journal? Do you only write when happy or sad, troubled or excited? Or are you more like me and document the everyday?
Related "ripples" you might enjoy:
- Pen & Paper: Overcoming Your Journaling Fears
- Pen & Paper: Journaling E-Course Giveaway!
- Pen & Paper: 5 Blogs for Journaling and Story Catching Inspiration
- Pen & Paper: Journaling with a Buddy
- Pen & Paper: Why is Journaling Important?
This entry was posted on Monday, January 17th, 2011 at 7:00 am and is filed under Creativity & Inspiration, Guest Bloggers, Pen & Paper. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
12 Responses to “Pen & Paper: Journaling the Non-Beautiful”
Leave a Reply
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by torforgeauthors, Spring Inspiration. Spring Inspiration said: New Post by Carolyn: Pen & Paper: Journaling the Non-Beautiful http://ow.ly/1aTW2H [...]
Twitter: keishualove
says:
I like to journal every day. I might journal more if I am going through a difficult time or if I am feeling inspired.
keishua´s last blog ..Mondays Om Play List
Twitter: carolynr
says:
Thank you for sharing keishua. I also tend to see my journaling frequency spike if i’m going through a difficult time and/or a wonderful time. I aim to journal everyday though, even if it’s just a single sentence or string of words :).
Another great post! Thanks Hope.
I have just recently started journaling regularly. I have found that no matter my mood I just let the words flow. If is something that I don’t really want someone else to see I have started making flaps…then using photo turns (scrapbooking supply) to hold the page closed. This way it is still “out” but not so exposed. If is something really negative I use my online journal at Ohlife to pour it all out.
Twitter: carolynr
says:
Thank you Erin, for your comment. I do the same as you – letting the words flow regardless of my mood. I love the idea of making flaps (similar to what Hope did with the skirt) – and am going to try this. I haven’t heard of OhLife – is that journaling software or a website? I can’t get into online journaling for some reason – pen & paper are the only ingredients that work for me!
Twitter: sharonkorkes
says:
Came across your site from Facebook! I think this will be a place I come to very often. :)
Twitter: JournalChat
says:
Hope,
I love how you address the issue of journaling what isn’t so beautiful in our journals; I have a similar approach with keeping all of my life’s dimensions with one personal journal. I appreciate your expression in an artistic fashion along with the text. Makes for an inspiring peruse. Thanks so much for sharing from your heart and your artistic palette!
I have chosen your post, Pen and Paper: Journaling the Non-Beautiful, for #JournalChat Pick of the Day for 1/17/11 for all things journaling on Twitter; I will post a link on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and my blog, Refresh with Dawn Herring.
You’re welcome to follow my @JournalChat account for all things journaling. :)
Thanks again for an insightful look into your journaling process. :)
Be refreshed,
Dawn Herring
JournalWriter Freelance
@JournalChat on Twitter
Dawn Herring´s last blog ..For Keeps
Twitter: jenp1969
says:
I journal every day too – even if at the start I don’t know what to write about .
I did The Artists Way by Julia Cameron and it suggests you write “morning pages” every day, writing 3 pages even if you don’t know what to write about. If you really can’t think of anything, you just put, “I don’t know what to write!” over and over. I never had to put that. Once I start, it’s like my pen has a life of its own. I think I even realise things that I didn’t know I knew, if that makes sense. It’s like a way for my subconscious to get out!
Jennifer´s last blog ..My New Year’s Resolutions
I began journaling 20 years ago. That journaling experience has caused me to author and publish my first book, VIEW FROM THE SECOND ROW. The author of this site which I am so happy to have stumbled upon is so correct in her point of views. When I started journaling, I would write about the experiences of my life, whether good or challenging, and hence I am pleased of that legacy today.
Twitter: p2pjournaling
says:
i like to use my journal to document as well as to work through issues. When I am going through something stressful I find that I naturally gravitate to my journal and can get lost in the pages. Whereas I have to make more of a conscious effort to document the daily. I’m always happy when I do though. So many great things happen daily that over time do get lost in the constant steam of memories that makes up my story. It’s nice to stop and write it out so that one day I can revisit it. The same goes for the everyday things that maybe aren’t so great. Sometimes it’s hard to see things clearly when I’m so immersed in it. Sometimes when I go back in my journal I can see patterns of feelings or stressors that I didn’t realize before.
Twitter: benspoont
says:
Being self-observant is really important! so smart what you do
[...] have written a little bit about what to journal in the past (see: Journaling the Non-Beautiful and The Power of Quotes), but from the comments posted with the giveaway last month, I thought I [...]