Have you ever considered keeping a diary or journal?
I bet you can put your hands on one or more diaries given to you as a little girl or teenager. It probably was a set: Diary, pen, and key. The first page, no doubt, says: This Journal Belongs To… And your name, fashionably written, follows.
As teenagers, there was something special and secretive about writing and locking up our personal thoughts.
Dear Diary…
Maybe the reason why people write “Dear Diary” is because it’s a friend of sorts. A friend is a good listener who is easy to talk to. Dear Diary is a befitting greeting for such a friend.
Months or years later, reading the journal is like visiting a forgotten confidant, time, and place. It’s a “now” visit with the “then.” A visit with “the way we were.”
What about keeping a journal of your thoughts and perspectives during this pandemic?
We can’t be expected to remember all that has and will happen or COVID-19’s ins and outs. And how we navigated through. Who and what struck, moved, and shook us?
Weeks ago, I considered journaling to be a no go. Oh, I’ll remember everything, even years from now. But that’s not realistic. So, I’ve decided to keep a journal. You may say not now, but maybe you’ll change your mind later.
The thing is, I have to write the imprints of my thoughts while they are new and fresh in my mind and spirit. After a while, the then and there happenings and thoughts become threadbare, jumbled, displaced, and half-forgotten.
The who, what, why, when, and how affect everyone. The effects create opinions, change, and growth.
Have you ever asked, “How did I get here?” We all evolve with time. And waves of life: marriage, children, work, trials, and our faith channel us in one direction or another. Journaling can help chart movements, twists, and turns in life. With journaling, you can surveil yourself. Maybe it can help us better know who we are and what we’re made of.
So, for the sake of retrospection and posterity, I’m going to journal my thoughts during this crisis. Now that I decided to do so, I wish I had started sooner. But better later than never.
A journal is a daily or interval recording of perspectives and observations. Narratives about events and moments. These moments are meaningful now and years later. It’s not like writing a letter. A letter is more formal, but journaling can be informal or as formal as you like.
I prefer writing informally to get my thoughts on paper before they shapeshift or disappear altogether. It’s okay if you misspell a few words. Forget punctuation and grammar. This is a diary, not a memoir.
The excuse that no one cares about what you think isn’t a good one. Only you need to care.
Do it for you.
Ordinarily, there are good reasons and benefits of keeping a journal. But during this pandemic, it can be even more beneficial.
You can record important decisions and why you made them.
Create some “you” time. Journaling is like a calming bubble bath.
Keeping a diary can help you better understand you.
It creates self-engagement.
It can strengthen self-discipline.
April 14, I wrote the following in my journal:
You know, I feel like I’ve lost a friend. Her name is normalcy. The last time I saw her was March 14. We were so happy; we hugged, laughed, told jokes, and exchanged compliments. This was the day COVID-19 changed everything for me, my family, and church family.
Steady as you go. And may journaling calm any turbulent tides and times during life’s experiences and travels.
Be encouraged in all good things.
God bless you and be safe.