Put it together: Conclusion to Journaling

So, now we are at the end of this series, but there is so much to cover and so much more to learn.  To recap, let’s go over some ground rules:

There are no ground rules

Photo By P.Lynne Designs
(c) 2018

You can write or produce anything, and it is your journal.  There is no journaling police, even though there are some people who claim that there are.  I often answer questions on a website called Quora, and in the past couple of days, I have been taunted by a couple of people who basically said to stop writing and live.  To those who think that journaling is wrong, you need to get a life yourself.  I live my life and at the end of the day (before I go to bed), I recap my day.  This how I choose to live my life, and if you do not like it, though. I am living it for me, not you.  you have a right to your opinion, and so with that being said, please live your life and I will do the same.

(sorry for the little rant, let’s carry on)

Journaling is only a little capture of this big thing called life.

Please recap your life.  This is an advise I share with all.  Yes, write it down, but as I said in the “There are no ground rules” section, I recap my day, good or bad.  The good ones are days of rejoicing that things, ideas you had, or experiences you had were wonderful, the heavens opened up, and God himself said: “yes, I approve”.  The bad ones are the days, where the dog bit the cat, The cat messed up the floor, and the mop was so dirty, until you had to buy a new one, only to find out that when you tried to buy a new mop, the store ran out or you had no money in the bank.  God could only say, “I got your back, lesson learned.”

Make any kind of journaling

You can do the following with a journal:

• Write one
• Draw in one
• Do mixed media in one (crafters know what I mean on this task)
• Be grateful in one
• Be soulful in one
• Track your health in one
• Turn it into a planner
• Track your baby’s growth in one
• Business plan in one
• Party plan in one
• Track inventory in one
• Track your spending in one
• Track your projects in one
• Handcraft one
• Travel with one
• Plan teacher lessons in one
• Go on a spiritual journey with one

And the list goes on and on….

There are all sorts of tools out there for Journals

From the type of book, you want to use (notebooks to hardcover types), to the type pens, embellishments, and other do-dads you can find.  You can also do it online with a program such as MS. Word to Journaling online for the world to see (or you can keep it private).  Many scrapbooking, planner, and card making supplies can go into a journal, generalization stickers as well.  If you find them a little pricey, you can always make them yourself or hire someone who has an Etsy shop. 

Gone are the days of Dear Diary….

Children start with “Dear Diary, I had a bad day” or “Diary, guess what?  I finally got the part in the school play, and I will have a few scene with Mitch, my Mitch, and he is dreamy” (or whatever they describe a hot boy today). As adults, we have more sophisticated ways of starting out an entry.  Use that.  I will not judge. (See There are no Ground Rules).  Make it as plain as you want or dress it up.  Put the entries in a book, binder, or online.  Give it whatever name you choose (my latest title is My Next Journey).  Add paint, glitter, or anything.  This is your book, your journal.  It is as private as you want it to be or as public.  It could be about you, your spirituality, your health, your children’s health, your dreams, your ambitions, Your hopes, your travels, and your business.  This is a record of what is going on in your life and no one has a life like yours.

This is the conclusion of this series, but the beginning of something new.  At the end of the first journaling post, introducing journaling to you, I explained that this will be a new section for Wednesdays.  Most bloggers have wordless Wednesday, but I cannot keep up with that, so I have to do something that speaks to me, and hopefully to you too.  At first, I thought of having you submit something, but I forgot this first rule that journaling needs to be very private if you want it to be.  I am not proud of my latest entries to My Next Journey, they are lessons learned.  Maybe one day, when my father will not be reading (he has a Facebook account, and got on me for posting something that I did not post and warned me about the idiots out there).  For now, I will keep it private. 

In the meantime, enjoy Writing Prompt Wednesdays on My Ambiance Life.  Your first one starts next Wednesday.