by Sara Marchessault
When you decide to keep a journal, depending on your type of journal, there are two things you absolutely have to have.
If you’re a paper/pencil kind of person, you need, well, paper and pencil.
If you’re a digital kind of person, then you need whatever electronic device you choose for your journal and a way to keep the device powered.
Do you like to cook? (I know, random question, but stick with me here!) Some of my favorite recipes are the ones with optional ingredients. If the option is something I don’t have in my pantry, phew! No stress, it was just optional!
I can still get the job done without it.
The optional ingredient for journaling is your space. The area that you choose to sit and journal can impact what you write and how you feel when you’re done.
If you write in a quiet, pleasing space at home or outside, someplace that feels comfortable to you, your journaling is more likely to be open, honest, dig deeply, and even touch on something emotional that you would benefit from working through.
Most of us feel more comfortable expressing our emotions in a private space.
If you find yourself sitting in the lobby of the dentist’s office grabbing a few minutes to journal, it’s likely that you will be a little more surface-level in your journal entry. Maybe you won’t dig quite so deeply.
You could go so far as to say that your experience wouldn’t be as delicious because you didn’t have the optional ingredient. (I told you my cooking question would make sense!)
The space we occupy is important! It’s much easier to journal in the privacy of your bedroom or in the early morning hours before anyone else is awake then it is to try and squeeze it in the midst of your hectic day.
When you have a perfect place to journal, it’s easier to pick up your pen and make some magic happen in your life.
And when you don’t have the perfect place to journal, when you are missing an optional ingredient, your journaling can still help with clarity. It can still set the stage for a focused and productive day.
Just like pickled string beans can still be scrumptious if we leave out the optional red pepper flakes.
The point is, don’t let the perfect place hold you back. Five minutes of journaling in the waiting room at the dentist will always be better than zero minutes of journaling.
Here’s a photo of my spruced up porch, my new favorite place to journal! I’d love to see your favorite place to journal/meditate/sit quietly. Visit my Facebook page to post a photo and tell us about it!
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