Journal Nerd

I used to have a stationary and journal addiction that got a little out of control.  I would buy tons of stationary I never had the opportunity to use (nobody puts pen to paper anymore) and I would buy a journal, start writing in it, forget it or get bored with it, find and buy another one I like and repeat that process a few more times. One day I just had to stop altogether. No matter how pretty or smart the stationary, no matter how bohemian and inspirational the journal, I couldn't buy it. I had to use what I had.

Which brings me to the journal I have now which is not the type of journal I would ever normally feel inspired by and yet I write in it almost every day lately. It's not Bohemian, or themed or cute. And what you might ask do I write about in a journal that I don't blog about here?

Lots of things. You know, life. It's very different than blogging or typing on a screen. It's not for anyone but me. it's like...reading books. You have to focus. You can't do anything else when you're writing on paper but write. You can't do anything else when you read but read. I guess some people are dexterous enough to knit or maybe do the dishes or iron while they read but the focus is still primarily on reading. And when you're writing in your journal there really is no multi-tasking possible. It requires your full attention.

It's a very good thing to be able to give any one thing or person your full attention in a world like the one we live in now where using up every spare minute of your time to cram in as many errands and projects and notes and calls and emails and transactions and viewings as possible. We do and do like nobody's business. Being is rare. Reflecting simply for oneself. Does that happen anymore? Or is everything a blog/vlog or Facebook status?

It's good to seek privacy sometimes in a world like this, a world in which there essentially is no privacy at all. The smart phone, your eternal companion knows where you are at all times.

So I've been pleased to notice how much I've even wanted to write in my journal lately. I think I lost a kind of trust in it for years. It stopped really meaning anything to me. I lost the meaning of writing just for myself. I stopped needing it. But I need it again. It's important.