“If people knew the story of their lives, how many would then elect to live them? ”
-Cormac McCarthy
Good morning, folks. Happy Monday. I hope you had a great weekend, and you feel good going into this new week.
For many years now, I have practiced my own variation of what Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, calls morning pages. My journaling practice began as she suggests. I started each day by filling three pages, from top to bottom, with my handwriting. I recorded whatever came out. It was a mind dump of sorts, to clear the way for better things.
In the beginning, I put a lot of pressure on myself to be disciplined in this spiritual practice. I had to write every single day. And I did, for over five years. But, eventually, I realized, although I did want to maintain a consistent writing practice, I was adhering to this discipline for the wrong reasons. The rigidity was doing more harm than good. I was writing to avoid shame.
So, over the years, more and more, I have learned to give myself grace. I came to understand, as important as it is to me that I write, it is every bit as important that I not feel guilty if I don’t.
Now I know the writing itself can be very healing, but so can the process. I just have to be open to it.
A few months ago, I picked up the book Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002, by David Sedaris (see link below). If you don’t know his writing, know that he is witty, and relatable, and very funny. Not only has reading a few of his entries at a time made me laugh out loud more times than I can count, it has helped me see how seriously I’ve taken this journaling thing for all this time. His book has given me permission to be playful; to have fun with it.
I don’t have to pressure myself to go deeper than writing about what happened in my life today. I don’t have to write something profound every time I put pen to paper. I can just keep a damn diary if that’s what I want to do. In fact, in pushing myself to write a certain way all these years, I overlooked a lot of details I now wish I recorded.
So, this year, I decided to do something new. No matter what I do or don’t write in the morning or on any given day, at the end of each day I will write one page about what happened in my life that day.
So, what about you?
Journaling Prompt for the Week #4 of 2024
Why are you writing? How do you feel about it? What motivates you to engage in the journaling process?
This Week in History
January 21, 1793 - Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine in Paris, following his conviction for "high treason" by the newly created French Parliament, during the French Revolution.
January 22, 1928 - Birch Bayh, Senator from Indiana (1963-81) who wrote two amendments to U.S. constitution, was born in Terre Haute, Indiana.
January 23, 971 - War elephant corps of the Southern Han defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops; Southern Han state forced to submit to the Song Dynasty.
January 24, 41 CE - Claudius succeeds his nephew Caligula as Roman Emperor after the latter's assassination by officers of the Praetorian Guard.
January 25, 1787 - Shays' Rebellion suffers a setback when debt-ridden farmers, led by Captain Daniel Shays, fail to capture an arsenal at Springfield, Massachusetts.
January 26, 66 CE - Fifth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
January 27, 1944 - Siege of Leningrad lifted by the Soviets after 880 days and more than two million Russians killed.
Glossary of Feelings entry III
Determined (adjective)
resolute; staunch
decided; settled; resolved
What I’m Reading
The Crossing, by Cormac McCarthy
The Johnstown Flood, by Davis McCullough
Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002, by David Sedaris
How to Know a Person, by David Brooks
What I’m Watching
Barry on HBO
What I’m Listening To
Songs for Silverman, Ben Folds
Xoxo, The Jayhawks
If you have a chance, please give a listen to my conversation with Eric Bricker in the most recent episode of The Path to Authenticity.
And, please check out “The Manifest Mixtape,” a community playlist on Spotify.
Have a great week. Thanks for reading.