Have you ever been hiking in the woods and come across a dark, murky pond? It’s back in the swampy area down the path a little ways, and it has that black oily liquid that just sits there. With the exception of some green seedlings that float on the surface of this quagmire, no signs of life. It was the fear of my life becoming one of these stagnant pools that eventually led me to ask the question, “How do I become a more whole individual—experiencing life as God intends?” Understanding that this side of heaven my desire can only be partially realized, I have embarked on a journey that has led me to, among other things, begin journaling. But before I share where this personal pilgrimage has led me, I’d like to offer my unscientific but passionate reasoning as to why anyone should even consider this adventure.
Robert Bly, in his book The Sibling Society, quotes fellow author Eric Hoffer: “It takes leisure to mature. People in a hurry can neither grow nor decay; they are preserved in a state of perpetual puerility.” These words articulate one of the core crises of our age: the consequence of hurry. As with any problem, the road to healing begins with admittance and understanding. We need to admit that we get caught up in the fast-paced activities of everyday life, and we need to understand that this is often at the expense of caring for our souls. We fill every waking moment with doing, going, seeing, and if only we could squeeze in just one more thing…. It’s as if we’re building the ultimate submarine sandwich, and we insist on stuffing in just one more condiment, only to realize we can’t even fit the sandwich into our mouths, much less enjoy it. Fighting the mediocrity that can so easily consume us in this culture is not easy. Caring for the soul takes time. Journaling provides a way to battle this monster of hurry and experience the renewal that leads to growth. Quite simply, journaling forces us to slow down. And I believe consistent journaling allows us to move toward wholeness —experiencing life the way God intends—by helping us capture, process, and celebrate our journey.
Capturing the Journey Many times, when people find out that I journal, they ask me, “What do you write about?” My standard answer is, “Pretty much everything.” It often includes what I physically did throughout the day, conversations I had, emotions I experienced, thoughts I pondered, and situations where I struggled. Sometimes I write a summary, other times a detailed description, but almost always I experience an internal release. The exercise of putting pen to paper and describing my day has a very freeing effect on my mind and body—and once these facts are down, I’m usually more prepared to process them.
Processing the Journey Personally I have always had a tough time expressing emotion and, to some extent, even experiencing emotions. I get caught up in the demands of work, the pressures of the day, and I go on emotional autopilot, telling myself that emotions will only get in the way. At the suggestion of a friend (who also happens to be a Christian counsel or), I began to write down emotions related to the events already being recorded in my journal. By asking myself questions like, “How did you feel when that happened, or when that person said this?” I found myself identifying, and eventually understanding and accepting, the emotions that I had held hostage for many years. Journaling has been an effective tool in helping me to process life. As we slow down to journal, we are able to take a step back and examine what happens to us, in us, and around us. As we step back to observe our lives, we can consider how to find balance in areas of relationships, work, social commitments, and whatever else fills our schedules. I process life through the filter of my faith, and I’ve found that journaling is a powerful way to deepen my relationship with God. Most days I write out my prayers in the journal. I’m very easily distracted, so I’ve found that actually writing the prayer, as if it were a letter to God, helps me stay focused. In these letters, I am brutally honest; after all, he knows it all anyway. In this more “devotional” aspect of my journaling, I have followed much of what Bill Hybels suggests in his book, Honest To God. Reflection on Scripture, the discipline of listening, and what I consider a healthy interrogation of motives, attitudes, and priorities often characterize this part of my journaling.
Celebrating the Journey A journal is an amazing thing. It is a record of my life, a play-by-play account of my journey, including my thoughts, dreams, relationships, sorrow, and fun. Although I don’t do it as often as I’d like, whenever I take the time to pull an old journal off the shelf and read the pages, I see how I’ve grown. I realize places where God used me or answered prayer. As I read about situations that were a mess and seemed so overwhelming at the time, I am confronted with God’s faithfulness and how he walked through those rough waters with me. Occasionally, I’ll even find the words to a poem or song that I wrote in a moment of pure joy or deep sorrow. Collectively, these have become my own book of psalms, and the journals tell the story of my life and faith, including a narrative of my relationship with God.
Getting Started Have I convinced you to give journaling a try? If so, here are a few things to remember as you get started: 1. Choose a journal in which you will enjoy writing. For me, it’s a simple spiral bound book with lined pages. For others, it’s a hard bound book or three ring binder. 2. Journal at an appropriate time and in the right place. If you work, get away at lunch to a park or restaurant. If you have kids around most of the day, journal while they nap or after they’ve gone to bed. 3. Choose to make journaling about what you need and what you want it to be. I need to process my day, work through emotions, and have a quality conversation with God. Your journaling experience might look quite different. 4. Give it at least four to six weeks. It takes a while to establish a pattern and find your groove. 5. Keep journaling in perspective. You may go through times where you write daily, and other seasons where you write very little. That’s normal, so don’t get discouraged. 6. Finally, remember to celebrate occasionally by going back and reading your journal. Your journey will amaze you. Many people I know have tried journaling and say it’s just not for them. I can understand and respect that. I only know that I need to journal. Journaling helps me slow down and capture this journey we call life. Journaling helps me process and celebrate the experiences of each day. But most importantly, journaling helps me care for my soul, fight mediocrity, and grow into the person God wants me to be.
Rich Johnson, B.A., is a single 20-something with a degree in Interpersonal Communications from Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois. He is a project coordinator for One Smooth Stone, an alternative communications firm in the Chicago area.
