Today I realized I was one page away from finishing my current morning-pages journal. I started doing a variation on Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages early in my retirement journey after I read her book, The Artist Within. It was my first indication of my love of writing, which led me to writing a blog and then to writing a book. (link here to my book on Amazon) I’ve been a regular morning journal writer ever since.
My current journal is a 300+ 8”x11” page, double-sided, lined journal. It’s probably the 5th one of this design and I love its size and shape. I started this one in October of 22, so it’s lasted me almost a full year. I don’t write 3+ pages everyday, as Julia Cameron suggests. But it’s fascinating to me that I did fill over 300 pages with my thoughts in just under a year.
Some days it is a litany of to-do’s or did-that’s. Some days it captures my dream snippets, or my thought spirals, worries, or ponderings. Too often, it will be a rant on something going wrong. Not often enough, it will be celebration of something going right. Some days I’ll jot down an Emotional Assessment or a Body Scan. Or a blog post idea, like this one on journal writing!
I find my morning journaling, always with coffee in hand and my feet up, usually watching the sun come up over the horizon, is very meditative. I love how the sun rises differently over the horizon through the seasons. When I miss a few days, I feel out of balance.
My journal contains other aspects for helping me with my life vision. The back pages have my tracking lists – books read (81 to date this year), new recipes tried (a dismal 6 so far this year), and new experiences (91 for the year to date). It also has space for my daily gratitude listing.
The front pages have my Retirement Life Framework (a graphic visualization of Active Body, Connected Heart, Creative Spirit, Contemplative Mind that includes my Positivity Practices and personal Jolts of Joy), my Emotional Assessment Tool, my Authentic Me statement, and often my Seasonal Possibilities list. All this stuff might be over-kill for many, but I love how all aspects of things to help me live the life I want are in one place.
It is time to start a new, fresh journal. This latest journal I’m finishing contains my concerns about moving my mom into the “best” place for her, and then my grief about her death. So there is a sense of closure as I put the completed journal on the shelf.
But, it’s also fun to look at what were my favorite experiences (joining a new book club, studying Tarot, dates with hubby, and exploring new crafting), my favorite new recipe (Hugo spritz cocktail!), and favorite books read (nothing pops – it was a lot of romance novels this year – easy reading, happy endings!).
Do you have a morning journal (or evening journal) practice?
Picture Credit- A sunrise this week, while journaling!
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I have kept a journal for years. Like you, I start to feel clogged up when I don’t journal for several days. I consider it my cheap therapy!
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I’m unsure what’s happened to me this year. After maintaining a diary cum journal daily since I was 14, suddenly I stopped making entries in March this year and am yet to take them up again. I honestly can’t even work out why.
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That’s quite a shift in habit! I was an irregular journal writer until retirement. Now it’s just such a habit for me.
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Yep, you said it: serendipity! I don’t keep a journal [as you know], but used to do the morning pages for years. Continuing on with the idea of serendipity… I’m on Threads now and yesterday someone new to me asked us if anyone knew about The Artist’s Way. Her question: Was it worth buying and reading? I said yes, of course, but couldn’t help but think of you. 😊
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Ally, I felt a little jolt of joy to know you thought of me! And yeah, serendipity is sometimes so wild.
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I ready Cameron’s book years ago and returned to Morning Pages this spring in order to record thoughts about an upcoming surgery and decisions surrounding a possible change in my professional life. I love the tactile notebook idea but use my laptop instead. Hands get a little crampy with hand writing and I’ve always been enamored of the keyboard since I was a tiny person, hammering away nonsense on an old typewriter in my parents’ basement in the 70s 🙂 I might pillage some of your ideas about jotting down new things tried, recipes, activities, books etc. Cheers.
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I like the written word. I like reading. I like writing. I write in a small notebook – thoughts, snippets of info, quotes, gratitudes. Besides being meditative, writing serves as an emotional release. The paper can then be torn, crumpled, burned – more emotional release & ritual. This isn’t a daily practice. There’s a To Read list, a To Listen To list, a To Do list & the did that review.
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I too love the written word! I’ve actually got multiple journals. Currently, besides my morning journal there’s a gardening one, a notebook on personal development, and a daily planning notebook. I’ve never written something and the crumpled and burned it. I’ve read how cathartic that can be. I might need to try it.
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Hi Pat.
I read Julia Cameron’s book (in French, to practice my second-language learning) several years ago. I kept up the morning pages for the twelve weeks of the course, but didn’t continue, or did for a short while, after that.
Throughout my life, I have journalled sporadically. I really like how you hold a space for so much; I think it makes one less scattered. Also, you identified the meditative quality of journalling. Some of us need movement, such as walking, running, baking or journalling, to meditate. As always, you inspire me to look again and explore possibilities.
With gratitude,
John
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John, in French!?! My goodness. Although, I did follow-up with her The Artist Way at Work (when I discovered it unread on my bookshelf!), and then the one about retirement (just because), I have never tried one in another language. So cool.
I had journaled sporadically through life, usually when things were “bad”. This was the first time to get into a daily habit…which I’ve come to value. I also understand the movement for meditation – my beach shell walks are definitely that, although not daily.
And I just realized I had the wrong author name in my blog post – oops!
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Hi again, Pat.
I recently bought your book on Kindle. I am working, as in doing the work, through it. Really enjoying it, and learning and/or confirming, a lot about myself.
Thank-you!
John
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I started journaling a few years ago when my life seemed like it was in an upheaval. It felt good but then my time in the morning shortened between waking a getting to the office and I stopped. I’ve tried to pick it up again, trying for the evening instead and I think I wrote in it once.
I have picked up my old one (I did in fact, fill one smaller book!), and like looking back so maybe I’ll keep trying.
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Nancy, As I don’t think I could have done this type of journaling while working, I totally understand! Luckily, in retirement I’ve been able to carve out slower mornings – coffee, sunrise (often), and writing – for me it’s about 30 minutes. Some folks find it helpful to end the day with a journal post – kind of letting the day go. But it is about creating a habit. Good luck.
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Hi Pat – well done on completing your journal and for all the different aspect of your life you managed to include within it. I journal, but much more spasmodically – maybe once or twice a month with a little update of what’s been going on. I tried morning pages but it felt a bit repetitive – maybe my life isn’t varied enough? So I do my own condensed version + my end of month blog post. My urge to write seems to be reducing of late – maybe the end of blogging is in my future after 1000+ posts?….
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Leanne, I’m not sure my life is “varied enough” and I doubt my journal has any literary value! It took me a while to get into the habit, but It’s now part of my normal wake-up routine. It grounds me. Others use daily gratitude, daily prayer, daily bible reading, morning meditation. I do morning writing.
And yes it can be repetitive, but I also try and celebrate the repetition a bit – finding joy in daily life activities. This morning I was captured my reaction to meeting a couple of new people last night. Not sure it will ever mean anything, but helped me appreciate the people I met and how they made me think about things differently.
The “should I stop blogging” question seems to arise in all of us on a regular basis! I often struggle with if I have anything new to add… and then I find something new to think/talk about. Your year of living lightly has been quite inspiring. One technique I’ve used to find my own inspiration is review my “best read blogs” to see if there was a theme there. Or write a summary of what I’ve been reading about (that was the toxic workplace blog!). I hope you stick with it… your blog is one I look forward to reading every week (even if I don’t always comment).
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Congratulations on filling your journal! I don’t journal but after reading about yours, not that I hadn’t know you do it, I wish I had been journaling, mostly to be able to look back on the year. I started a little on my computer but I often didn’t feel like I had anything to write (well, except woe is me stuff) and so I stopped. I think actual writing in a “real” journal might work better for me. I might have to try it this year.
I like your format and just might steal it. Did the journal have the different sections?
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Candyse, My journal doesn’t have sections. Although if you look into Bullet Journaling, they do. If you think my approach is anal, the Bullet Journaling people are way over the top, IMO. I just put headers on the last few pages of the journal – New experiences, Books read, New recipes. This new journal I added a page for Crafts attempted. Because I’ve been playing and it’s nice to look at the list. Because it’s 8×11, I can slip in print outs of things like my life framework or a possibility list.
I got into the habit of doing it over morning coffee. Even if feel like I don’t have anything to write, I can put down what I did the day before and what I’m grateful for or what I’m planning to do that day. It actually helps me organize my thoughts and grounds me. Some days it’s a half page, some days it’s three pages! Yeah, there’s the woe is me stuff in there too.
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