The Journal Journey

Time and again research has proved that our brains register negative events more strongly than they do happy ones and so these negative moments are much more likely to be remembered vividly and for longer periods of time.I, too, have always found beautiful things to be very fleeting and so keeping a journal is a way to capture the happy whether in the form of cut-outs or scribbled quotes or a polaroid, if I’ve had an especially outstanding day,and have it in physical form to come back to since our human brains so preoccupied with survival can easily discard the beautiful considering it to be unnecessary.

Somedays when I am feeling particularly disorganised my journal is my saving grace,it gives me space to declutter myself,divide and prioritise my tasks not to mention the fulfilment that comes from ticking off to do lists is unparalleled.

Other days it is more of a friend I can vent out my feelings to without any judgment or regrets.Writing down your own feelings can be more helpful than we give it credit for.It is a great opportunity to evaluate and re-evaluate your feelings.I am surprised by how often when I review one of these venting sessions I always leave with a new sense of self-awareness.It always leaves me with questions like what and why I felt a particular way when an event transpired?What practical steps have I taken to better myself and my relationships with others?Do I feel that the initiatives I have taken are being appreciated and reciprocated?Having such profound insights can do wonders for one’s personal life to say the least.

When my entry doesn’t revolve around these two things it is usually an array of anything and everything that might have struck a chord with me that day.It could be an exquisite article about an age-old painting I cut out from the newspaper, a polaroid picture of my friend I took in front of some wall art, a movie stub, a quote from the book I might be reading or very often it is those one or two lines in a song that you eagerly wait for every time you listen to the song.Journaling had also inspired in me a love for stationary I never knew existed.If it is pretty, will stick to paper and will fit in my journal it is coming home with me.

So, as I go through my day,I gather my little trinkets and when I am finally in the confines of my own room with a cup of coffee,my pair of scissors, tapes, sequins, stickers and my journal in front of me is when I feel most at peace.I usually like to lay down a base first which can be easily down with a piece of used pretty wrapping paper.Then comes the actual material the quote, the lyrics, the article, the photograph and I try to perfect every little detail,making sure the bits I cut off from the newspaper or magazine have perfect edges, the ink doesn’t smudge and that it all comes together as magnificent as I had imagined it.Most of the rest of time is used to make it more visually appealing be it with a ribbon, a paisley pattern I just printed out or simply little things I may choose to scribble with marking pens.

As I go on filling out the pages each day, my journal really bulks up, from having to contain all my happy little memories as I like to think.There is joy and mindfulness I achieve with every single entry I make and then there is sense of pride when I am finished with a journal and I can finally flip through all of those entries one after the other feeling the entire spectrum of emotions all over again and with pretty much the same intensity.