The Joys of Journalling

Hello

How are you?

It’s 5 weeks into our third Lockdown. I have been reading a lot about good self care. What is good self care, this is what we need to ask ourselves. For me, it is about being kind to my mind, good sleep, exercise, food, fresh air, are some of the things that we can do at home in Lockdown. Staying in touch with friends and family. Learning that it is okay to have “you” time.

For me especially during a Lockdown, where we are a bubble of two adults and two purrs. I find journalling and blogging both very cathartic and they also help very much to focus the mind. Writing is also a great distractor from the real stuff that is happening. It is also a brilliant head emptying aid. Especially, if your head, like mine, feels like a big bowl of spaghetti.

I started my journal journey with @JuliaCameron @Theartistsway, many years ago. This book is definitely one of my favourites. It’s all about putting pen to paper and writing, giving ourselves permission rather than keeping busy in a non-creative way. It starts with Morning pages. You quite simply set your alarm an hour before you are due to wake up. You grab an A4 lined pad and write, (a pretty A5 notebook won’t be able to cope with this, believe me) You literally empty your head of thoughts and if you have any goals or ideas that you are thinking about. Just write it all down until you have filled 3 sides of A4 paper. To start with, it may feel a little overwhelming “3 sides”, but once you start, you will be there before you know it. The aim of Morning pages is to get your ideas or issues out there. Clear head, clear day. It is also very much about following your creative goals. Another aspect of this book is the Artist date, this is when you take yourself and your art out for the day (where possible), this for me normally involves grabbing my camera and going in search of a beautiful landscape. However, as this can also of course apply to journalling.

For those new to journalling, here are some of the options:-

Listology is great if you have a permanent to do list, as we all do. If you like to be organised, this is a really good method of tidying head/mind. In fact this is probably a good one, if you enjoy things being in their place, I am a massive Feng Shui Queen. That does tend to reflect throughout my home and journalling. I have in various stages of my life just about listed everything, goals, books, places, holidays, clothes, exercise. My mind on paper.

Picture/Vision board Journals. I love, they are designed with the very artistic in mind (perhaps one day I will pluck up some courage and sit and attempt to design one:) they do look absolutely awesome.These are great if you like scrapbooking or if you are a collector of bits and pieces of memorabilia. These are great for holidays, vision boards, drawing and quotes.

If you are locked down without a journal, how about covering an old hard back book that you no-longer wish to read, with wallpaper. Then glue your quotes, your art, photos, magazine cuttings inside. This one is quite new on my radar, I definitely like the up-cycling aspect. Making a Journal like this is also like creating a biography of your life and all that you love.

Quite interestingly, since starting this blog I have watched someone (in cyberspace) assemble an artistic journal. I now find myself on a very different journey and with a very different approach to where I started. A scrapbooking journal is a very sacred space, it is a great opportunity to do some real soul searching. My fascination with this has only just begun. As is quite often, we start out on one personal journey, only to be called to something else.

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use. The more you have”. Maya Angelou

Bullet Journal. Once again, I love the idea of these, one day I will sit with some patience and design one. These are like a pictorial spread sheet. They are based on pure precision. They are fabulous for researching things, Food trackers, Mood Trackers, Sleep Trackers. The bullet journal was invented by @Ryder Carroll.

Gratitude Journal. My personal favourite because appreciation is so important. It takes something like 10 minutes to write 10 gratitudes. It has a great feel good factor. This particular style of journalling personally works for me because I am a word and list personality. I am also a need to get it written down kind of girl !!!!!!

Wellbeing Journal. This is another favourite (see bullet journal). It is interesting what happens once you start journalling, your goals, mood, health, food, exercise, sleep. This does need some trackers designed, so gives you a little bit more creativity.

If you do a cyber search on any of the above on-line, there are absolute zillions of ideas and guidelines out there. A good Sunday afternoon activity.

The feel good factors about any form of journalling:-

You become organised.
Your mind feels cleansed.
You can set personal goals.
You can sit and mindfully write/create in your own space.
It is a mood raiser and very absorbing.
It is a good fulfilling distractor too.

I am currently participating in a journalling workshop with @KirstyGallagher. Her workshop is based on two prompts a day. For each one you put a timer on for 3 minutes. It’s brilliant, because by the time you have completed it. You have given yourself permission to sit still and sort through your thoughts for 6 whole minutes. Gets the day off to a great start.

Journalling has taught me, that it is alright to be present with myself instead of worrying about everything. It is good for emotional resilience and wellbeing. They are great to capture thoughts and dreams.

Privacy My journals tend to follow me all over the house. I tend to only write what I wouldn’t mind having discovered. However I would like to think that they do in fact carry their own invisible Privacy tag.

Artist Date/Weekend Retreat My act of love and self care for myself this weekend, is to book an hour of beautiful meditation music, followed by my first attempt at some picture journalling. Who knows it may even encourage me to fit some brush-lettering in too (another story).

Thank you for reading.

Until next time.

Stay Safe. Stay Home. Stay Well.

It now stays light until 5.30pm, we are moving in a good direction.

Jules xx