Healing
the Heart
The Joy of Journalling by Marie Nantes, M.Ed The journal is not only beneficial to us personally but can become a means of communication between us and our family or friends. How excited children (whether young or adult) become when they discover a journal written by an elderly relative! As they turn the pages, they gain insight into their loved one's experiences and behaviour. The journal becomes a bond between the generations. As it was written it expanded the writer's knowledge of self and its legacy is a greater understand and appreciation by those who ‘knew' the writer. What a beautiful gift to leave future generations. Journaling over a period of time offers many benefits. It allows us to review our lives for a period of weeks, months or in some cases, even years. It brings to mind the enriched lives we lead as we celebrate achievements, remember new friends and experiences or grieve the loss of a loved one. In addition to the reflective journal there is also the memory journal. This type of writing simply summarizes the events of a time period for the purpose of remembering dates, keeping business data or for retrieving professional information. This type of journal is similar to note taking but is valuable for those who prefer pen and paper to the keyboard for keeping records. These journals do not contain personal reflection and are not instrumental to personal growth, but often lead to insights into professional trends. In some cases writers begin keeping a daily personal journal but as time progresses they add reactions and goals to their writing so consequently their journal grows into the reflective journal which I feel is so beneficial in helping to define who we are. Whether writers choose the more traditional journal forms or the reflective journal, they will discover that writing down their experiences will not only clarify them but ultimately lead to a greater clarification of who they are themselves and isn't that what this journey of ours is about discovering who we are and what we are about?
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