Journaling: A place of progress
My journal is the place where I live out my faith pilgrimage. I like that idea because journal and journey have the same root word that means “a place of progress.” Journaling is a way to turn the ordinary events of my day into wisdom for tomorrow. But I understand that not everyone loves writing in a journal as much as I do. I understand it’s difficult, awkward, and may bring up horror stories of your fifth grade teacher making nasty comments about your writing. But let’s agree that this is baggage that we can now release and enter into a new adventure where writing is free-flowing and writing is prayer. No one but you and God will read it, and he absolutely adores you and your expressions in your journal, even if it’s written in crayon, or as bullet points and to do lists, or fits and starts of words and phrases, even with bad grammar or angry rants. It’s all of you on the page and that’s a beautiful thing.
Writing is a miraculous thing, really. There is something of divine mystery that happens as the tip of the pen moves across the page connecting thoughts (mind) to movement down the arm and to the hand (body), to reveal hidden and often surprising thought and perspectives that give rise to a holy “yes” or “aha” (heart). Not every word we write gives us that jolt of new truth. Sometimes it takes a page or two of free-writing or stream-of-consciousness writing to prime the pump to enter the creative flow of an idea. But even those pages of scattered thoughts become a “gathering prayer” bringing together the shards of a fractured existence into one sacred space on the page. For me, this pilgrimage through my days deserves this kind of time and attention, life laid out on the altar of the page, to fully unwrap all that God may want to reveal to me.
Consider also the pace of writing. Generally, most people talk at around 200-250 words per minute Most can process words on a keyboard at an average speed of 80-120 words per minute. But writing slows us down to an incredible 30-40 words per minute. Many people tell me that’s why they prefer to write on their computers because they can’t get the words down fast enough to keep up with their thoughts when they write it out on paper. I say, that’s the entire point of writing. Yes, a thought or two may slip away before you can get it written, but if it’s vital, it will return. If it doesn’t, let it go.
I like to imagine the slow rhythm of writing like a hand-held fan. Most of the time, my fan is folded up tight because of the speed at which I live life. But when I write, the fan begins to unfold and the thoughts, ideas and emotions caught deep within the folds are now exposed and find room to breathe and be heard. This is why we are more able to come to new thoughts and ideas that startle us awake with an affirmative cry of Amen, so be it.
This becomes our place of progress and transformation on the pilgrim way.
