My journaling practise has taken many years to mature.
I’ve always enjoyed the feeling of putting pen to paper. As a child, this was how I wrote my fantastical stories (most of which seemed to involve time travel) and captured the details of our family holidays (for the first two or three days at least).
There are endless numbers of studies demonstrating how journaling can be beneficial for our mental and even physical health, ranging from reducing symptoms of depression to helping us sleep.
But it is the smaller, everyday magic of journaling I wanted to write about today.
I feel a journal should be a regular companion, rather than something that is only reached for during emotional turmoil or as a way of marking ‘special’ occasions.
I argue that documenting the ordinary is far more important.
And here’s why…
A replacement for your phone
Journals provide a simple alternative to our smartphones. They are portable enough that they can be carried around in much the same way and can be accessed whenever we have a spare few minutes to fill.
This means that, rather than getting distracted by notifications or getting stuck down a reel rabbit hole, we can use our spare time to describe the sky, ponder over hypothetical scenarios or scribble a quick review of the book we have just read.
Journals encourage us to use spare moments to feed our imaginations and fire our critical thinking skills, rather than becoming numbed by algorithms.
You will understand yourself better
Nowadays, we spend too much time online and too little time in our own heads.
This constant stimulation and comparison means that we’re only able to capture the surface veneer of our thoughts, making us vulnerable to becoming overwhelmed by feelings that we didn’t see coming. We’ve become blindsided by our own brains.
The more we feel like we are floundering in our own lives, the more we turn to others to tell us how we should be living, not considering that we are only seeing the edited snapshots. And then wondering why we are left unsatisfied and unfulfilled.
By letting our thoughts roam freely within the untamed landscape of a journal page, we allow ourselves space to ponder. To spot patterns and reflect on what makes us happy and what doesn’t. We can use these words as way-markers, so we are confident in following the path that’s right for us.
It will capture memories in their authentic form
We are living in an era of photo deluge.
These images are now traded as currency. No longer remaining tucked away in family albums, only to be pulled out at occasional gatherings, photos now have the tantalising potential of being liked by thousands of strangers in a few simple clicks. Offering the ultimate dopamine addiction.
In this way, photos have become meaningless. The pressure to make them ‘good enough’ to share online has stripped them of their magic. In the age of AI, a picture no longer tells a thousand words. But a journal can.
Journals allow us to capture the reality of memories. They provide an authentic depth that photos lack, both encouraging us to live in the present and offering a beautiful tool to preserve the past.
They offer endless possibilities
We talk a lot about fearing the blank page, yet its real power lies in the freedom it gives us
If you are a writer, or would like to begin your writing journey, then a journal is invaluable. It offers the freedom to explore your craft in a safe space that never has to be shared.
Writing about our days allows us to practise numerous techniques, ranging from sculpting adjective-rich descriptions to noting the intricacies of dialogue. And doing this regularly can spark your own original ideas.
A journal is essentially a turned over flowerbed, just waiting for the seeds to be sown.
It will reveal the extraordinary
We must remember that our reality is somebody else’s fiction.
Even our dullest days can be fascinating, if we decide to view them this way.
Magic can be found every day. It could be as simple as admiring the warm slant of sunshine on wooden floorboards or the citrus scent of your favourite shampoo. Endless moments that can be snared with our pen and woven into the narrative of our lives.
By writing about the ordinary, we realise that our lives were extraordinary all along.
You can now support this slow living publication by buying me a coffee. A small token that I truly appreciate.
A will be publishing a deep dive specifically on reading journals later this week, including tips on how to start your own, so do subscribe if you’d like to receive this.
Until next time,
Molly xx
About the author
Hello, I’m Molly, a writer, YouTuber and almost author, living in a Tiny Home in the Scottish Highlands. I’ve built this publication to empower readers to carve out their own version of a slow life. Find out more about this publication HERE.
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