I have been
keeping a daily journal since January 1st 2022. I jotted down a few sentences each day, basically
things I did that day, as I was preparing to retire and pull the plug on full time employment, which I did on April 1st of that year. My first journal wasn’t anything all that special,
just a spiral notebook that I wrote in with a mechanical pencil. Looking back my entries were just a few lines,
but it seemed helpful at the time.
I had a lot of fun decorating the front cover of this spiral notebook
As time has gone
by my journaling has really evolved. I
still use a spiral notebook because it is a simple format that I really seem to
enjoy. I decorate my journal pages more,
I underline each entry with different colored gel pens (I really like glitter
gel pens for this) and my daily entries are more detailed. I write down pretty much everything.
A lace pocket on the inside cover for tucking items inside
The first two years of retirement were rough for me. I knew it would take some adjusting, but I ended up adjusting to a lot more than I originally anticipated. Only two months in I lost my dearest friend to cancer and grieved not only losing her, but losing all of the plans we had made for our retirement years. I became an empty nester the following month when my youngest child branched out on her own leaving me completely alone and living by myself for the first time in thirty eight years. My entire life changed dramatically in only a few months and I had to discover a new normal. I was also dealing with some health issues.
I love to buy sticker books to decorate my journal pages
I saw most of
these changes as a positive, but I still needed to get used to it, adapt and
figure out how my life was going to be as I moved forward. It took more time for me to get settled than
I thought it would, about an entire year longer. But, what really saved my sanity was to write
things down so I didn’t carry it around in my head all the time and chew on
it. Once I write it down it has a place
outside of my head to reside and that gives me a lot of inner place.
One of the big
changes journaling has done for me is that I no longer feel guilty for not
making the most of my day or being productive enough. This has been a lifelong problem I have
battled. In the past two years I have
written down almost every single task I complete or at least work on so now
when those negative thoughts begin to creep in all I have to do is look at my
current journal entry and I know that simply is not true and those thoughts are
immediately banished and sent packing!
Extra colorful decorated pages to add to my journal
As I journal
each day I’m feeling more at peace, more content, happier and even more
creative. I use stickers, I doodle, I
underline things in pretty glittery colors, I add show tickets and any other
items I might otherwise stick in a scrapbook if I was a scrapbooker. I have fun with it. I even take my journal and journaling
supplies with me when I go out of town.
It has become that important to me.
I picked up these stickers at Wal-Mart
As my journaling
improves I feel like I am too. That was
an unexpected win, for sure. For me keeping
a journal has been very transformative and I am so thankful that I decided to
not only do it, but embrace the process. 😍
I too struggle with those feelings of not being productive. It has seriously affected many things I should enjoy doing - my hobbies, especially, or leisurely reading. I grew up in a home where something was worth doing if it was "productive" meaning you got some accolade or money from it or recognition or status. Those things have never meant anything to me but still those feelings that I'm not doing enough persist! Which means my hobbies and interests get short changed because there's always something "more important " that needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteI've tried journaling numerous times. It does not stick for me. I've tried different formats and approaches. I like to do art so I tried using my sketch book as a journal. Nope. A day or 2 and then I'm done.
I'm trying to focus on the positive (I spent time with someone) vs the negative (I got nothing done that day). I'm also letting go of activities that aren't who I am now. This gets rid of those things I was "stuck" doing,but often put off, which left me feeling like I had an insurmountable lists of things to do.
It sounds to me like you are doing a lot of great things that fit into your life right now. Keep up the great work Margaret. :o)
DeleteRecently someone said something to me that really resonated: "You are not your thoughts". It gave me permission to both express those thoughts, then put them in their proper place in my head (or on paper). I had to turn my journal into a gratitude journal - and will leave it there for a while. Otherwise, its me yelling at my late husband...and that's not conducive to feeling happy!
ReplyDeleteI love that you are focusing on a gratitude journal. It is difficult to be angry or unhappy when you are busy counting your blessings. And correct! You are not your thoughts.
DeleteI love this post because I am a journalist too. I use composition notebooks (especially when they go on sale for $.50) and I decorate the covers with scrapbook paper and stickers. I then cover the entire cover with clear packing tape to protect it. I use my notebooks for thoughts and prayers, to-do's, projects I want to work on (eventually), notes about books I want to write and stories that come to mind. One thing I love to do is cut out pictures from magazines that speak to me, like a cupboard full of old quilts that might remind me of a memory of my grandmother. I glue the picture on a page and then write a little story about it. Those journals are my favorites.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thanks for sharing about your friend and then you becoming an empty nester and how painful those things were. I don't know why life happens like that sometimes, but it's tough. I know those are the times we have to lean in to the Lord and let him be enough. It seems you made it through and are now thriving. I'm so glad. Have a wonderful week! Happy Easter :)
I love how you do your journals. I do the so many of these same things. Our lives definitely have their ups and downs and like you I too lean into the Lord during all of it and He is definitely enough. Happy Easter Debbie! Have a very blessed week!
DeleteThank you for sharing. It is so hard to lose people we love, then to become an empty nester is also traumatic. So glad you “leaned into the Lord” and seen to be thriving.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much
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