J is for January and Journaling

J is for January and Journaling

What do winter and this journal have in common?  They both have potential.

As I look out my studio window on this gray winter day, I see bare trees and empty flowerbeds. But I know that there, just under the bark and just beneath the soil, lays the potential for a beautiful spring, waiting for the sun’s warmth to unleash it. The stories we have within us are waiting for the right moment to come to the surface and bloom.

This is where the journal comes in.

A journal has the potential to become a snapshot of us. Keeping a journal gives us the opportunity to put bits of our every day story on paper. It can be current or reminiscent. Once out of our heads, the words take on new life. Often we can gain a different, sometimes better, perspective when we see these thoughts on paper. A journal can be liberating, cathartic, comforting or all of these. It is a window into who we are and how we see things.

If you are new to journaling, don’t be afraid of the blank pages! Just get started. If you need a prompt to get you started, refer to your calendar and see what was going on last week or what you have planned for this week. Who did you have lunch with yesterday? How do you know them? Don’t feel as if you have to write an entire page every day. Jot down a few words about the weather or birds you see on a walk. Did you a quote that you liked? Jot it down. Sometimes words may not be enough. Add sketches or some other artwork. Tuck in a bookmark. Make your journal your own and a place you like to go.

A journal captures moments, memories, and experiences. Whoever you are, your story is important and when you tell it, ordinary words become extraordinary.

Now that you are journaling, add some fun elements! More on this in an upcoming post.