July 2nd, 2008
Yesterday I posted a couple of reasons why I never got into writing in a diary. However, I do appreciate and enjoy journaling.
What’s the difference?
I suppose some would contend that a diary and journal are the same thing, but I don’t view or approach writing in a diary and writing in a journal in the same way.
For me, the difference is area of focus. A journal is a place where I can explore different avenues of my thoughts. Play around with ideas that seem contradictory to each other. Explore just about any sort of thing I want. Write down questions I have. A diary records events, impressions and experiences from a particular place and time. My journal may contain diary-esque elements, but that is only one aspect of the writings contained on the journal’s pages.
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July 1st, 2008
Did you ever keep a diary when you were a kid?
I can only recall a brief period of time where I did. Brief, as in I maybe wrote in my diary for a few weeks at most. I think there are a few reasons why I never grabbed a hold of the diary idea.
1. I wanted to keep my secrets, my secrets.
I’ve always thought of a diary as a place where one writes down feelings and thoughts about the day including things he/she didn’t want anyone else to know about. Secrets. That’s why diaries have those little locks or are kept in a secret place, right? It was always in the back of my mind, what would happen if someone discovered my diary and read it?
2. My hand couldn’t keep up with my thoughts.
I’m left handed. Have you ever watched a left handed person write?
Left handed people either turn their wrist at a really awkward angle in order to pull the pen similar to what right handed people do or left handed people push their pen/pencil across the page. I’m a left handed ‘pusher’ – which I think correlates to exerting 40% more energy than right handed people.
Yes, that explanation was lame.
I detested writing by hand because it took me so long. The thought of writing in a diary was not something that I got excited about.
3. I’d rather be reading.
I was/still am a voracious reader. Given a choice between writing or reading a book at the end of the day, the book would win every time.
How about you? Did you have a diary as a kid? Have one now?
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July 1st, 2008
I had a pause moment the other day.
Pause moments are those times when something/someone causes me to stop what I’m doing and encounter whatever the moment has brought with it. Maybe you call it by another name – perhaps a name that is better suited for these kind of moments in life.
When a pause moment approaches, it doesn’t give a warning. It arrives uninvited and unannounced. I can choose to welcome it or let it slip by.
Pause moments are deceptive – fairly brief, taking no more than a few minutes to occur. What happens afterwards can take a long time. Time in which a person sorts, processes, analyzes, argues, speculates, tests or does whatever people do when trying out a new realization.
When I stop to encounter a pause moment, then spend time afterwards with what I encountered, what I discover affects my soul.
I encountered a pause moment the other day. Dressed up as a seemingly ordinary event, this pause moment arrived and stopped me in my tracks. I had a choice to welcome the moment or let it slip by.
I chose to welcome the moment.
I’m glad I did.
When is the last time you had a moment like this?
Did you welcome it or let it slip by?
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