Journaling is Not Dead
The funny thing is, I had not been taking my own advice. I vowed to write more. Not necessarily to publish more blog posts, but to physically write more. I realized that if I wanted to write with freedom of not thinking about an audience, and therefore not censoring or editing myself, I needed to write by hand more. I needed a journal.
I didn’t have the time or money to go buy a pretty one, so I just grabbed a composition book from my classroom and started jotting and writing. While very little of that translated into anything here, it felt good to be writing every day again.
Then I was offered the opportunity to use (and review) a “gratitude journal.” I wasn’t exactly sure what this meant, but I did know that I just had a tiny new human in my life and I was super grateful, so it seemed a good fit. The Grace of Gratitude Journal is a perfect journal for a beginner or a veteran writer looking for a way to get ideas and thoughts down quickly. Author Deborah Perdue beautifully weaves examples of gratitude throughout the pages and Tara Thelen provides gorgeous illustrations to inspire the writer.
What sold me on this journal was that it has lined pages and a spiral binding. It fits just right in my diaper bag or purse so I can take it with me so that I can jot thoughts of gratitude wherever I am.
As you can see, the lines are wide-spaced and somewhat short. I would not use this journal for free-writing; it’s much better for listing. I currently use it to list ten things I am grateful for each day. I already love looking back at what I’ve written for previous days–especially those days that felt like they totally sucked because each day I have no problem coming up with ten things to say a silent “thank you” for to the man upstairs.
The Grace of Gratitude Journal is reasonably priced at $14.99 on Amazon. It’s a hardcover journal, so no bending of the cover or wrinkling of pages, which is awesome because if your purse/bag looks anything like mine, it’s a miracle if anything comes out in tact.
Journaling every day has not just reignited my writing habit, but it puts me into an immediate better mood because I am thinking only positive thoughts. Because I am at risk for a postpartum depression/anxiety flair up, anything that puts me into a sunny place mentally is good. I feel like this has been another branch of my self-care along with therapy and meds. It helps me focus on the good at the end of each day rather than what I would otherwise obsessively worry about.
Plus it’s been an idea-generator for blog posts! Win!
Really the only drawback to this journal that I can think of is that it’s for only forty days. I would love a thicker one that covers six months or a year. A year of gratitude would be awesome to have and look back on when you need a reminder of how blessed you are.
Do you write by hand, or is everything you do on a computer or device?
*************
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I was sent a copy of The Grace of Gratitude Journal for review. No further compensation was provided. All opinions are my own.
