Benefits of Journaling

Recently I discovered several spiral notebooks containing hand written journal entries dating to the mid-1990s.  The journals must have been lost in the shuffle upon my last move to this apartment.  However, I quickly began the process of typing the entries and saving them to my computer.  I was fascinated by life all those many years ago: places I've been, friends I had, issues I faced.  The foremost characteristic I saw in myself through the journal was how full of life and energy I was.  Seems like I was always on the go, either to see a friend or travelling.  To this day I continue to journal.  What I have to watch out for is to not merely chronicle events in my life, but to explore the emotions and backdrop of what is happening.  To simply make a chronology of events loses the essence of who I am.  I must capture what my thoughts were, to explain how I was feeling during the time of the journal entry.  Every night, when I sit down to type in my journal, I remind myself to fully express who I am on paper.  Journaling contains many benefits and is very therapeutic as well.  The act of journaling is an art form, and provides the platform for idea development and story telling skills.  Writing in this fashion also increases one's own vocabulary and hones our ability to express ourselves.  Devoid of knowing how to express the essence of our being, freedom of speech becomes null and void.  In other words, speech is a natural outgrowth of expression...if you can't adequately express yourself, then freedom of speech is a non-issue.  To journal also leaves a legacy for our posterity.  Leave memories behind for you family and children.  Write detailed accounts of your days, time spent with people you love.  Everyone, including yourself, will be glad you did.

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