journaling can do what???? dispelling the myths about journaling { part 1 }
i know that many people think that journaling is not for them.
"what! me.....write stuff? ...like in a journal???!"
yes you certainly can. in this 2-part post { click here for part 2 } i want to dispel a few of the myths that tend to hold people back form beginning a journaling practice. am i talking about you? mmmh....
misconceptions about journaling
myth #1: i need a special type book.
nah, not really. don't get me wrong, i can totally fall in love a beautifully bound book full of pristine white pages to write in { my shelves are filled with the ones i've made and ones i've purchased } but a special book is not needed. i've journaled on the back of a bills envelope before. the paper DOES NOT MATTER., and i think deep down people do know this. a book that is special to you is great but if all you have available is a composition notebook or a stack of copy paper you've folded, cut in half and center stapled ......open it up and begin writing.
myth #2: i'm not a writer and my grammar sucks
nope, nada. uh uh. your journal is for no one else but you. your thoughts, your way. your writing doesn't have to be perfect. your grammar* can take a back seat, this is about you and you alone, getting in touch with your center, your SOUL words and having a sacred place to store them. oh love, you don't have to have any formal training at all to write in journal, you just need to tap into your heart and allow the words to unfold.
myth #3: i have no time whatsoever to devote to it
i, too, at one point thought this. you don't need to devote hours to writing. i remember when i was the mother of 2 young children with a hubby who was always invariably away on business trips { i called them my single mama days }. between one thing and another i had allowed my journaling habit to fall by the wayside. i knew however that writing for me was a release of sorts... a place where i could go for a few minutes and just be me, to be with my thoughts, work out a few issues or record the cute saying my kids were forever saying that made me laugh at. i made it a point one day after getting into bed one night to drag out { yes back then it was a drag to pull out that book and blow off the cobwebs, lol } and write about my day. just a few sentences. when i finally tucked my journal away, which back then was a 1-subject notebook i might add, and prepared to finally go to sleep i remember feeling a sort of contentment that i'd given myself those 5 minutes to record my day.
in a whole day of 24....can't you gift yourself at least 5 minutes?
G
*p.s. true confession: grammar is one of the more impossible things for me to let go as i'm writing, i blame my mummy & thank her for instilling in me this crazy, nerdy love of words }