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Tuesday, February 7, 2012

My Journal & Joni



There is no sunny weather for me to complain about today. Though still mild for this time of year, the days have been slightly more winter like. I was finally able to carve out some free time to spend with a few of my favorite things, mainly my journal and my Joni Mitchell CD’s.

Anyone curious as to what I write in my journal would probably be disappointed if they actually read it. I do a lot of “stream of consciousness” type of writing, recording my thoughts as they come to me. More often than not those thoughts are boring, superficial, negative and sometimes just plain depressing.

There are moments when I am tempted to try and write more profound or positive entries in my journals but that would defeat the purpose of writing them for me. Instead I find that, by purging myself of my more mundane or troubling thoughts and feelings this way, I am actually able to get at what is waiting behind them. After journaling for a few hours or over the course of a few days, I discover that my mind is much clearer and more open to receive new ideas, positive insights and creative solutions. I try to jot those things down too but usually by the time I get to that point I am ready to stop writing and to start creating.

So why does this ritual require that I listen to Joni Mitchell? I sort of wondered that myself until I read an interview with the musician/artist where she said, “I sing my sorrow and I paint my joy”. Since I find it difficult to hit many of the notes that Joni does, perhaps writing in my journal is just my way of singing along.


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