Thought for the Week
“In the diary you find proof that in situations which today would seem unbearable, you lived.” ~Franz Kafka (from his personal diary)
My wife and I were trying to remember the chain of events in our turbulent premarital relationship. We knew we’d broken up twice (it turned out to be three times, actually), and that something had brought us back together each time. And we knew that the last time had been different, that some invisible barrier had been removed. But what? And when?
I dug through my old journals for some quick clarification, but got much more than that. I rediscovered who I was and how I became who I am. I saw the chinks opening in the wall of Self, making possible an Us that could never have otherwise existed. In writer language, I saw my life’s dramatic arc.
“What am I to do? I must have some drug, and reading isn’t a strong enough drug now.” ~C.S. Lewis (regarding journaling after his wife’s death)
“Why You Should Journal” articles usually emphasize the immediate therapeutic benefits of dumping your unpublishable secrets onto nonjudgmental sheets of wood pulp. I heartily concur. But every time I re-read my old journals, I’m also struck by how beneficial they are to me now. Perhaps it’s because, as the saying goes, only hindsight is 20/20. Only now can I watch the whole Homerian epic play out, and cheer the protagonist on. Only now can I view the vital truths I would eventually embrace struggling to break through. Only now can I witness insidious lotus-eating notions threatening to block the way home, and shout, “No, Self! Put that down, you don’t know where it’s been!”
“Cheap paper is less perishable than gray matter. And lead pencil markings endure longer than memory.” ~Jack London
In short, through journaling I gain a truer understanding of who I was and am, both individually and in relation to others—an understanding that memory alone cannot provide (granted, it’s through the eyes of Former Me, an imperfect witness, but a firsthand witness, nevertheless). And as a result, I stand a better chance of taking the correct next steps toward my story’s happy ending. The one in which the preacher concludes, “He was a good man.”
And actually means it.
To read the conclusion to this post, How to Keep a Life Journal, click here.
I agree that journaling isa great idea. I never did much of it and wish I had now, because relying on an aging memory doesn’t always hold true. I was thinking about this today as well, because I was searching for an old photograph on my computer. As I scrolled through all of those endless photos, I saw a history of my own life unfolding. It has been a good run.
I Journal…Not sure what I was thinking when I wrote ”I Journal, therefore I was”
;>)
The quotes you’ve included beautifully capture the essence of this process.👌
I agree journaling is important for many reasons. A word of caution to all o’ y’all: keep your journals in a safe place – e.g., a fireproof lockbox. When our house burned down in 2015, among other things I lost 20+ years of journals. I miss them! ~Ed.
Oh, Ed, so sorry to hear that–warning noted!
I’m so sorry you lost that part of you in a fire. I would miss mine too. I’d need a gun safe just for all of mine.
I hear you. Mine were like, 27 ‘books’… in a banker’s box in the closet. Whoosh!
Thanks for another quote for the blackboard. By that I mean the Kafka reference. The Lewis quote is probably too easily misunderstood by adolescents. God bless, Mitch.
You too, Nancy.
It’s hard to find time to read my old journaling (notebook paper in 3-ring binders), but my diaries (on a shelf in this room) has solved many a question/argument. Writing itself certainly has ferreted out places where my trajectory was given a shove.
I used to do that.
I write in a journal every day and have for perhaps 50 years. When the stack of journals got to be 5 feet tall, I decided it was time to toss them. I re-read them, saved anything significant and tossed the rest. Now, at year’s end, I re-read what I wrote that year, save anything significant and toss the rest. I can easily fill two or three journals a year, and 90% (or more) is not important so saving all those books was too much. I have saved perhaps a dozen journals (in a safe).
Could not agree more! I am sending 86 pages of excerpts from my journal spanning from 1976 to 2024 to a great friend today. He called me on Christmas Eve saying he had covid and wanted me to know how much our friendship meant to him. in case he didn’t make it. These pages cover the vacations our families took together and all the fishing trips we took together. I tried to get them together sooner, but it does take awhile to reread 48 years of journals. Thankfully, he has recovered, though he may die of shock when he receives my 86 page history book of days gone by that we spent together.
What a priceless gift you’re giving him!
I agree with your ideas :))
Thanks, Howard.
you know, I stopped keeping my journals years ago, but I journal daily. recycle them afternwards if they recycle or throw them away, and move on. My blog is the closest thing I have to a record of my life now!
Yes, I agree, by reading my journals, in reflecting on the past me I can celebrate where I was and how I have grown through challenges. It’s like a sacred memorial to all that went on. We can rejoice and be amazed in the details and be grateful.
I journal, but to preserve my stories for our future generations. Having lost so many older members of my family, all those stories I’ve been told of their lives I now wish I had listened more closely to, now they are all gone. So I write about memories of my childhood and family, triggered perhaps by what I am reading, as well as what is currently happening in my life.
A great reason to do so, Sandy.
I liked this. So simple and true. Journaling has been my very inexpensive and discreet therapist ☺️
I actually love journaling. It’s been a while for me and sometimes reading far back to my early 20s is cringe worthy, but as you said, it all led us to here. I’ve been thinking of beginning again and doing it scrapbook style. So many bins of memories. Thanks for the inspiration Mitch.
My pleasure, Alegria (I don’t think that’s your name, btw, but is it your “blogger name”?).
It is Mitch. Thanks for asking.
Ideal material for your memoirs…
Indeed it will be, Bob, when I get to the age where I started keeping a journal.
Gosh, I’ve kept a journal for most of my life. Occasionally, I’ll leaf through old ones and laugh at my silly old self. I’m so glad I’ve kept them.
I haven’t kept much of a journal until recently, and now I wish I had. You’ve done a great job of explaining the benefits of journaling!
Thanks, Ann.
Excellent! I whole-heartedly agree with your ideas expressed here.
Thanks, Slim.
My dad has been keeping a journal for decades. You can ask him about something that happened on our cross-country trip in the 1970s and he can go look it up. If I’m the fiction writer in the family, he’s definitely the non-fiction one.
Very cool.
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Yes, yes, yes, Mitch. I agree with all the reasons you shared about journaling. I’ve been doing it for about three decades. Just this afternoon a friend and I talked about the benefits of journaling, as I noted that blogging has lessened the frequency of my journaling.
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