Journeys

With the COVID-19 pandemic, many are finding their world in sudden upheaval. Children can't go to school, young adults are home from college, many have been let go from their jobs, and those that do work either do it remotely or in unrecognizable environments. The way we socialize, the way we live, the way we interact has changed. It is easy to feel alone, to become isolated, when we can not physically connect. But this, too, is just a new type of journey.

I've spent the past two weeks quarentined in my room, separated from my family and the outside world. It's given me plenty of time to think, to question. What should I be doing next? Who am I? What do I want to do with my life? Asking big, scary questions.

But these questions don't represent some failure, uncertainty is not something to fear. Questions, new situations, they all represent a journey into the unfamiliar. When we start a new journey, a new experience, it is easy to feel lost. I often feel like I'm falling, falling from what I know into a world I don't understand. Below is a beautiful poem by Jan Richardson about the beauty and the magic we can find on such journeys.

Beloved Is Where We Begin
If you would enter
into the wilderness,
do not begin
without a blessing.
Do not leave
without hearing
who you are:
Beloved,
named by the One
who has traveled this path
before you.
Do not go
without letting it echo
in your ears,
and if you find
it is hard
to let it into your heart,
do not despair.
That is what
this journey is for.
I cannot promise
this blessing will free you
from danger,
from fear,
from hunger
or thirst,
from the scorching
of sun
or the fall
of the night.
But I can tell you
that on this path
there will be help.
I can tell you
that on this way
there will be rest.
I can tell you
that you will know
the strange graces
that come to our aid
only on a road
such as this,
that fly to meet us
bearing comfort
and strength,
that come alongside us
for no other cause
than to lean themselves
toward our ear
and with their
curious insistence
whisper our name:
Beloved.
Beloved.
Beloved.

-Jan Richardson from Beloved is Where We Begin

I love this poem because it reminds us that we are not alone, that even when we don't feel perfect, we are. These times, and any new journey, can feel lonely, confusing. Maybe we're trying to become better people. More healthy, more mindful, more present. But such a journey is never easy, and progress often feels out of reach. We try to love ourselves, but we question our believes, our choices, our identity. This poem reminds me that beginning in itself is the first step to any journey. And we shouldn't expect the journey to be easy, we shouldn't expect ourselves to immediately succeed. Instead, we have to believe that we are making progress. That we will be okay. That we don't need to know all of the answers. That we are never alone: others have felt this way before us, and others will feel this way after us. That this, too, is part of the journey.

Setting Up Your Journal

If you’re looking for a new project, there is nothing I recommend as highly as journaling. Journaling has been proven to help your mental health (See Psych Central Health Benefits of Journaling and Benefits of Journaling for Mental Health ) . I also love journaling because it helps me reflect on bigger patterns and goals in my life. And, it’s fun to look back at old journals to see what you were thinking and doing at different points in your life.

I have journaled for many years. Like a lot of projects I do, I’ve started journaling and stopped it, only to pick it up later, usually in a different form.

When you’re starting a journal, deciding about the format of the journal can be overwhelming. Do you just write what you’re thinking? Do you write in letter form? Do you do bullet journaling (See Buzzfeed’s Guide to Starting a Bullet Journal)? Do you draw pictures?

I encourage anyone starting to journal to think about what they want from their journal, and to think about what structure of a journal will help them achieve that. And, to experiment. The journal is yours, so do whatever you want to it! Write, draw, leave pages blank, write upside down, anything! See what works for you. And you can always do something different next time.

For me, there are some rules I follow that help me journal and help it be productive and fun for me to come back to:

1.     I only journal in black and white college ruled composition notebooks, in blue or black pen. A lot of people like to write in pretty journals, but for me I like consistency. I use other types of notebooks for school or projects, but to me, composition notebooks are a place to tell my story. And pen makes it feel permanent.

2.     I always start with the time, day of the week, and date. Every entry I write says something like 10 am, Wednesday May 13. I like to know the date of my entries, and when I look back through my journals, the time is interesting to see as well. Since I don’t always know what day of the week May 13 was, I like to include the day of the week so that if I’m looking back through a week, I can immediately see that I wrote every day except Tuesday, instead of having to count back the dates.

3.     The cover of every journal says my name, then the time I started it (Jan 2020-) and then I add the finishing month and year when it’s done.

4.     I cover the front and back inside covers of the journal with quotes that inspired me at the time of the journal. Sometimes I do this when I start the journal, but usually I do it sometime in the middle of the journal when I find quotes that I think represent ideas that I hope to remember and think more deeply about.

5.     I keep a list of every book I’ve finished on the back pages of the journal. I write the date I finished it, the author and title, and I put a star next to it if I would recommend the book. Sometimes I add a short description or note (ie- great book for somebody interested in farming). This helps me look back at all the books that I’ve read and notice how my patterns in what I read change.

6.     I don’t require myself to write every day. I try to write every day, but if I don’t, that’s okay. I don’t allow myself to start any entry with an apology for not writing sooner. I apologize too often in my life, and I don’t need to waste space in my journal with apologies that aren’t even to a person.

When you start (or re-start after a break), your journal, think about what will work best for you. What type of notebook do you find inspiring? Colored pens or black pen or pencil? How will you structure your entries?

When will you write, will you write at the same time every day or different times during the day?

What will you write about, are there certain goals you want to talk about in your journal?

Once you’ve decided how to set up your journal, start thinking about what you want to include in it. In future posts, I will share different types of content I write in my journal, including gratitude charts, quote collections, and well-being check-ins.

Have fun journaling! What does your journal look like? Any tips for new journal writers? Please share in the comments below!