Keeping a personal diary has been a pursuit of human society for many hundreds of years. In times past, men and women of knowledge carefully kept a record of their days, their achievements and their dreams. We owe a great debt of gratitude to each of them, as we have gained much information about the lives of those in the past from many of these journal entries.

For some people, journaling is a natural extension of their daily lives. How many of us have picked up the family Bible to discover little snippets cut from the newspaper, flowers pressed between the pages, envelopes of letters or pictures safely stored for future generations to discover? I have certainly found such treasures in the more “ordinary” books on second-hand bookstore shelves and garage sales. It is always a surprise and a pleasure to discover them and then I feel a certain sadness that somehow these treasures have ended up in the hands of a stranger.

The unexpected gift of these objects has been a better understanding of our desire to record and preserve important memories and items, and while putting these treasures into the pages of a book isn’t exactly a journal, it is one component of this incredibly creative and satisfying pass. . -hour.

There are some basic skills when learning to write a journal, some of them are:

• Make the time and space to do it regularly. Whether you’re keeping a dream journal, a garden journal, a baby journal, a travel journal, or a personal journal of any kind, this step will make or break your experience. If you have to go so far as to make a ‘date’ with yourself, do it. At a minimum, set aside some time once a week to go through your calendar or diary and record the highlights or lowlights of your week. Even after many years, I am an irregular writer in my journal, but when I write and communicate with my wonderful partner, the value I receive from this is immense. It is always worth the effort.
• Start with something you’re passionate about. This makes it so much easier to write regularly, words and ideas seem to flow effortlessly, and you’ll enjoy reading through the pages of your journal entries. I keep more than one journal because I like to keep my gardening knowledge (successes and failures) separate from my conversations about personal and spiritual growth. I’m sure you’ll develop a process and style that works for you.
• Use materials that inspire and motivate you: My journals are ALWAYS beautiful to look at and wear. Also my writing instrument. I have a preference for a certain type of pen, a certain color and a certain texture on the paper. This adds a lot to my enjoyment of the writing process and when I look back I can remember what it was about that particular book or pen that attracted me. I. The layers of enjoyment will build a strong relationship with your journaling process. Find out what you like, experiment with different things until you find the right combination of elements for you.
• learn from others: So many times at the beginning of my journaling adventure I longed to look inside the pages of other people’s journals. What did you do? How they did it? I was lucky that some of my friends were willing to share some of their pages with me and they introduced me to the idea of ​​drawing, painting, collage, coloring and doodling in addition to the words I was writing. This immediately reminded me of the newspaper clippings, pressed flowers and images I always found inside the pages of old books and this idea of ​​adding that visual texture to my journal was so enticing that I started right away. I am very grateful to my dear friends for opening my eyes to these new possibilities.

There are many reasons to keep a journal. There are many ways to keep a journal. If you are really worried about not knowing how to write a journal, there are many sources of inspiration and motivation, only you will open their eyes and hearts. I have recently discovered many books on the subject, as well as a number of inspiring examples that have been posted on the Internet. Use these resources if you feel stuck or uninspired and I’m sure it won’t be long before you enjoy keeping a journal of your days, dreams, successes and triumphs.