Courage to Write

Sitting in my truck within range of the Library’s wireless access, I am trying to come up with something witty and interesting to post on this great blog. There’s a million words floating around in my head, and yet like the rain gently soaking everything outside, nothing is hitting me. Twice I wrote something on the subject of Journaling and its importance (and it is), and twice I deleted the garble of goo. Actually, it read more like an owner’s manual. Boring!

“You never find yourself until you face the truth.”
-Pearl Bailey

I’ve been journaling since I was fifteen. It was the best advice I’d received from a doctor. No. Not that kind of doctor. Out of pure frustration with me, my mother took me to talk with one of her closest friends, a surgeon she worked with at a local hospital. I couldn’t/wouldn’t communicate with anyone. It wasn’t difficult for him to quickly see I was a shut-down lock-down teenager with a lot of stuff bottled up inside without a release valve. Basically, I did not know how to get “IT” out of my system. Truly, there was no intensions of be difficult, unwilling, or even a defiant teenager. There was no outlet for my compiling thoughts. His advice changed my life. A simple set of instructions: “If you won’t talk to anyone, then write it out. You have to get it out of your mind.”

The purpose of journaling is not to rehash hurt feelings or the painful events that have occurred in our lifespan. It is to learn and grow from each experience. We don’t have to sort it all out; we don’t have to analyze it. By doing something physical, like writing, we are able to release the vicious cycle of dwelling on unhealthy thoughts.

Once the emotions are expressed, healing begins. Our perception of ourselves is key. My only rule about journaling is if I wouldn’t say it to my grandmother or dearest friend; do not write it. I would love to share something I learned a while back, and it’s amazing how the simplest phrase can build and inspire more beautiful thoughts. At the beginning of the sentence, I begin with “I am…” I am a beautiful woman. I am a talented writer. I am a good mother. Then I might write the phrase “I believe…” I believe I can do anything I set my mind to do. I believe I will succeed on (current) project. The words are powerful. Next time you write in your journal, try these phrases: “I am…” “I believe…” “I feel…” “I know…” The magic you create will help build confidence and courage. This morning, I wrote these words in my journal - “I believe I can help others to feel good about themselves.”