Journaling

     I have to confess that I am not one who journals. In my lifetime I’ve made several feeble attempts, all have failed. As a child I remember longing to have one of those pretty little diaries with a lock and key. At one point I bought one with money from babysitting (would you believe I was paid 50 cents an hour!). At some point I felt too exposed. Perhaps someone read it, I don’t remember. Honestly, the thought of writing down my deepest thoughts, dreams, fears, and hopes, intimidates me. There’s always an underlying fear that someone else might read them, my true self would be exposed and I would be judged, or worse, disliked. I also fear that I could write down something that would bring a loved one hurt or pain if they were read after I died. So my tendency would be to 'sanitize' what I write, defeating the intent.

     However I know many people who journal and love it! They feel free to record their hopes, dreams, frustrations, joys, memories, sorrows, and all their experiences in this journey called life. It provides them with a sense of freedom, gives them emotional relief and joy. They find it therapeutic. Some even think it’s fun! The positive I see is that they can go back and read them and see where they have had answer to prayers and have moved through hard times and grown through those experiences. I also believe it is a gift. A gift they leave behind to others. It shows we are all  human beings, jostled to and fro yet able to survive and even thrive!  It gives hope to the reader for troubles they may be facing or will face in the future. It is a wonderful way to preserve one's life history.

     With all that said, the question I ask myself is, “Will I give journaling another try?” I can’t say for certain, but I love the idea! I also love to craft journals using paper, embellishments and composition books (can be purchased for $1). Here is one I recently made for a dear friend who has the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to Ireland this year.