Red leather with an embossed cover, floral spiral-bound hardcover with the pages falling out, pink and purple hearts to express the love I have for my husband, and finally a red checkerboard cookbook. These are the places where I gather the pieces of my life that feed my soul.
I recently came across a blog post written by Calensariel titled Back to Journaling…, where she asked readers some thought provoking questions about journaling and invited us to respond. She asked, “Do you journal? What do you think a journal is? Is there a difference between a journal and a diary? What is it?” I thought I would like to take a moment to think about these questions and try to share what journaling has meant to me.
Do you journal? Yes, I have written in a journal off and on since I was in middle school.
What do you think a journal is? I think a journal is a place where I gather the words, pictures, quotes, short stories, and feelings that mean something to me – that feed my soul.
Is there a difference between a journal and a diary? Yes.
What is it? I think that a journal and a diary are very different. When we were young we had diaries which chronicled our daily trials and tribulations. They held our secrets, hopes, and dreams. We wrote in them the things we were unsure of, the things you didn’t dare anyone else to see or know. I feel like journals are more of a repository for things that we want to savor or hold onto. They are spaces for us to collect little tidbits we come across. A journal is something that someone would be able to open and get an understanding of who I am and what is important to me.
Anaïs Nin stated, “We write, like Proust, to render all of it eternal, and to persuade ourselves that it is eternal.”
That is what a journal is. It is a place where I put things that I want to remain eternal.
I currently have four journals. The red leather journal was a freebie from Bath and Body Works. It has a collection of healthy recipes that I have tried and loved. But I am not sure if that is what I still want to collect in that journal. My second journal was purchased because I was going through a rough spot in my life. Both my husband and I had left our jobs and were trying to get by on part-time work. I just couldn’t find reasons to smile until I purchased this journal. Anytime my husband did something that made me smile, I
would add it to the journal.
The third journal was given to me by my mother-in-law and is a space to add family recipes.
The final journal I own is my oldest. I have had it since I was in middle school. The pages are yellowed and some are falling out of the spiral-binding. This journal contains quotes, poems, thoughts, and snippets from books that I liked. I truly think that this journal is a representative of who I am and the things I like. Maybe in the coming weeks I can share some of those tidbits with you guys.
What do you think? Would you like to know me a little bit better?
Cassie The Conqueror 
Intriguing post! I’m so glad to hear that I’m not the only one with multiple journals! What a relief! I thought I was obsessed. I have:
—–Moodlings — personal struggles, tidbits I don’t want to lose track of, poems, pictures, etc.
—–The Journey Matters — which really is more of a daily diary than a journal
—–Saturday Morning Kitchen Khronicles — a review of the week that’s about what’s going on with the family, not just me, and often includes pictures of the grandkiddos
—–Book Lust — reviews of books I’ve read
—–Can I Quote You On That — quotes I’ve collected
—–Various journals I’ve filled up while journaling through books I spent a lot of time in like “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron and “Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self” by Sarah Ban Breathnach. I love to read a chapter, an exercise, a few pages and then respond in a special journal just for that book. One of my favorite and most poignant book journals was with a book by Jan Richardson called “In the Sanctuary of Women.” I heartily recommend trying this with a book. It really makes reading an inter-active exercise.
Oh! And thanks for the pinkback! 😀
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Have you ever thought what you will do with your journals once you are done with them? Especially since you put so much time and effort into naming them?
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Four journals, and each one serving a different purpose. You put my assortment of scruffy notebooks, creased sheets of A4 and paper napkins to shame. The only writing around here that’s tidy is what I’veposted on my two blogs. They’re each supposed to cover different subjects, but even they are a little mixed up 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Oh I have started a certain journal with one idea in mind and then completely changed what I was using it for. I have totally taped scrap pieces of papers into a journal if I couldn’t recreate what I had drawn or if my husband wrote something. Its like these journals are part scrapbook.
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Journals like that are the most interesting kind… 🙂
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