pen and book - journalling

JOURNALING: A personal essay on the benefits of journal writing

Last updated: November 8th, 2018

Journal writing is an escape to a place without judgment, rules and boundaries. An antidote for those of us who judge ourselves too harshly. It doesn’t matter what paper or ink are used. In fact, the words you write don’t even require a lot of care. Spelling, grammar, wordiness, none of it matters in the moment. What matters is how you feel about what you write. Writing can be therapeutic, exhilarating and peaceful, so write down the things that you find stressful and the things that make you feel completely at peace. The only limits are the ones we place on ourselves. Writing is a place where a person can just be.

It reminds us where we’ve been and provides us with a glimpse of where we’re going. It gives us memories we might otherwise forget. It can gleam hope when we need that extra comfort. What are your hopes for today, tomorrow and always? What challenges are you facing that you need to roll up your pants and wade into? Many thoughts and emotions will fly like a kite, colourful, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Pick the ones that capture your attention and put them to paper.

Journals are always there when we need them. They’re here just for us, to gather our thoughts, to share our laughter, our tears, frustration and sadness. Words are here for us today, tomorrow and always.


image: JoelMontes (Creative Commons BY-SA)
  1. I’ve accumulated a lot of 3 ring binders with my journalling over the years. I notice that I tend to write a lot during difficult times and transitions, but less during the good times. As a result, I fear that anyone reading them in the future would get a very distorted impression of my life.

    What do I do with all this material? I hate to throw it all out. I’m not likely to reread it. As mentioned above, I’m not at all sure I want to leave them for others to read.

    1. To quote Stephen King in his book, Different Seasons, “The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them — words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they’re brought out. But it’s more than that, isn’t it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure …”

      It’s the words we write in the difficult times that have the most lessons – not just for us, but for many.

    1. They are now spread across my writing. I do not keep journals anymore as journals, I use pieces of my life in my articles so, in effect, others are reading them all the time.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *