Journals and Papers

How do you relax?

For some a day of relaxation might include time at the spa, or fitness center. Some people enjoy taking part in a nature adventure, walking, spending time with friends and family, reading or doing a craft to help them relax.

How do you express your feelings?

Most people express their feelings verbally, by talking to friend, venting with a partner, arguing or laughing. Others express their feelings non-verbally by being creative, doing an art or craft, such as painting or sewing. Some use exercise and the intensity level changes depending on inward feelings.

There is another way to find peace within your lives.

What if you can’t express you feelings verbally, aren’t a very creative kind of person and don’t enjoy exercise? What if you have some heavy emotional baggage and can’t vent or relax about it? This is where journal writing can be helpful. It is a perfect way to reflect and release emotions that could be suppressed and hidden and may even be unconscious to the writer until exposed through the journal writing process.

Meaningful journaling allows the writer to learn more truth and insight about themselves and what is happening in their lives at any given moment in time. They can express private aspects of themselves without fear of reprisal or hurting someone.

Try keeping a journal to help you relax and find inner peace within. As you continue learning about yourself through the journal writing practice, you will most likely find that your journal becomes a best friend, one that you feel you should visit from time to time. Like any friend, if you don’t visit them often enough, you feel a sense of loneliness.

Today, take time to sit with your friend (your journal). Open your heart, let your emotions flow to the page and you will create peace within.

I’ve been noticing recently that retired seniors are coming up with activities they can do, which are meaningful, creative and a lot of fun. Some of these activities are off-chutes of others, such as scrap booking and taking journal writing to a new level.

I’ve met one lady who wanted to take photos of me at my home-based business office. We both live in a rural area, and “just for fun – and something to do”, she was taking pictures of local businesses, printing them, adding business cards and brochures, and notes about the business and compiling it all into a scrap book page. One thing to note here is that in the country, not all businesses of the norm. Some are quite different and encompass anything from ranching to knife carving to taxidermy. Once her project is finished, she’ll have a memory book full of interesting businesses and people she met along the way. (In the future, it can always be donated to the local library.)

Not knowing what to do with his time when my Father-in-Law retired, he decided to continue his computer work, but made a shift from business to personal writing. His days are always busy and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all he does. So everyday at night or during the day he writes a few paragraphs about his activities and people he was with. He adds such things as ticket stubs, cards, receipts and photos. He’s not even six months into his daily journal and he has already filled up a 3 inch binder full of writing and collectibles from his activities. He loves doing this, as it is an activity that again lets him interact with others, not to mention his children love it too. Now we get to know what keeps him so busy!

I am sure there are many other ideas on how seniors are keeping journals. Please comment on them and share your ideas here on this blog.

Hope is something we conjure up in deep times of sadness and grief. Hope comes from within, an awakening, a desire, something to believe in. Hope moves us forward, gives us a sense of purpose. Hope is anticipation of a better time to come.

When we journal, we sometimes journal for hope, especially if we are going through a rough time. We journal to write words we believe in, words to give us comfort. A journal becomes a cane in times of hardship. We can lean on it; use it for support and strength.

If you have cancer, or know of someone who is suffering from the disease, or are survivors, the Hope Every Day Journal by Compendium is a delightful gift for the journal writer. It features uplifting, meaningful quotes on every two-page spread that give hope and inspiration.

With every cancer battle, there also come many success stories. Explain first steps taken, fears that are faced and conquered, healthcare workers who have helped. Write about friends and family who have stayed with you and provided support. This small gem of a journal is a wonderful tool for wellness and to track a powerful journey of hope.

I call it ‘regrouping’, which is my term for getting in touch with my spirit source. At some points in life many things can and do change and these changes take you away from your self goals, dreams and the route you feel you should be going in life. We are dragged into situations we don’t want to be in, doing things we really don’t want to be doing that leave us wondering, “What am I doing here, now?”. It is at this point that I use a journal to get me back on track to what I feel my life is about and to help me regroup my thoughts and feelings and get ‘back on track’. I’ve found it is the only tool that helps me personally, and it may be a great tool for others. It’s almost akin to using a brush when you are having a bad hair day.

I make time for myself amidst this chaotic realm of doing what others feel I should be up to and sit down with a journal that fits my mood. I have a special journal for my spiritual writing. When I sit and write, I write about where my life has gone, and what I’d like to be doing. I write about things I am grateful for. I write about goals, dreams and outcomes. The entries are very personal and most likely not shared.

Some people take a walk when life gets too hectic. Me, I pull out my spiritual journal.