Digging deeper

I'm sure you know by know that I keep a journal. Sometimes several at the same time. On paper or in a Word document. There is something about writing though - the squeeze of my fingers as I hold the pen. The slight scratch of the pen's nib as it moves along the paper. It simply makes me happy.

For me, journaling is like digestion. Think of what you would miss if you ate a great meal, and then no digestion. What great stuff would be lost. I find that keeping a journal enables me to live twice. Once as I actually experience an event, and then again as I write, ponder, question, reflect, rant about it in my journals.

It takes practice not to simply write a left brained entry - I did this, I saw that, Then I did this. Real reflection takes time and effort. It is often not easy to dig deeper. But I plod along anyway. To aid me in my efforts, I read voraciously on the topic of writing, especially journal writing. Am currently reading Old Friend from Far Away and am loving it. Here is a quote from the early pages:

The muscles of writing are not so visible, but they are just as powerful: determination, attention, curiosity, a passionate heart.

So here is an exercise I did this morning. Get comfortable. Set a timer for ten minutes. Tell me what you will miss when you die. Ten minutes. Go.

Interesting what comes up no?