When I write in my journal, I usually write about what’s in the forefront of my mind, what in Anais Nin’s words is “warm, vivid, and near to you at the moment.” Perhaps I describe how my husband/co-worker/sister is agreeable or annoying or aloof. About what went right today–or what went wrong. Or that I wish I had left my house five minutes earlier and I would then have not been stuck in traffic, which made me late for an important meeting…and that I promise myself I will never do that again! So many details of life!
When I re-read two or three months of journal entries, I begin to see the big picture of my life. It’s from the perspective of distance that things become clearer. I see an arc of movement—a starting point, a life event that creates some pain or discomfort, and then a new trajectory. Or I notice a repeating pattern with no movement. Or perhaps I detect a repeating pattern with slow but discernible change.
Re-reading my journal periodically helps me see the forest for the trees.
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