Good morning!
I’m sitting here listening to the surf in a campground at Myrtle Beach, SC sipping my coffee and I just wrapped up my journaling.
- Repeated my positive affirmations – all the “I am” statements – and I needed it today!
- Worked through something I was struggling with – turns out I was overthinking it and my solution was to “let it be”.
- Then I just wrote about my surroundings – the “being part of life – versus the doing”.
I used to be crazy consistent with my journaling now, I do it more when I feel the urge. Although this month I’m doing it along with you! I forgot how therapeutic and uplifting it is to put things on paper – or even type like I am now. As I look back at my life, I tended to journal more in the tough times versus the great. Sadly I didn’t learn the “rule” of not making them a bitch session and ergo focusing on the negative until much later in my journaling life. So my journals were more like toxic friends who enabled some bad behaviors but they were there for me, and in the end, helped me work through all the tough stuff.
If you want to master the habit of journaling for the good – affirmations, working through issues, manifesting your bucket lists – then do it daily. Even if it’s a sentence or two – make it part of your day.
The power of the written word is….well, powerful. You are also able to go back and see how far you’ve come, reminding yourself that you can overcome anything if you focus on the positive, focus on the good.
Journaling is also “me time” – in that no one interrupts me. I go someplace quiet – that’s the meditative part, the therapeutic part of it all. Remember part of the “rules” is to find your space and make it special. When you meditate daily – you will find your mind settles, your heart rate lowers, your breathing slows – it’s like yoga but with a pen and paper. The benefits are endless.
Your writing prompt for the week is to hone in on your senses. Go outside – on the porch, in a hammock, under a tree, on a beach, on a park bench – and just write about how you feel. Breath in the fresh air, hear the sounds, smell the scents – now write. After this write your affirmations and feel free to continue on with your free-flowing ideas but start with your senses.
Today – it was the sea, the seagulls, the pounding surf, the sand in my toes, the chill in the air, and the sunrise. I reminded myself how lucky I am to live the life I have and that all the things I’ve been worrying about are secondary to this…just being in the moment.
Namaste and enjoy your journal time!
Cindy