I make it a practice to regularly journal — ideally each day, but more often a few times a week. One of the benefits is the chance to go back and reread my thoughts from weeks, months, or even years ago. I enjoy experiencing these snapshots into the past that reveal something about me at a different place and at a different time. Often I come across things that are insightful. Sometimes it’s an idea worth acting on. Sometimes it’s an experience or memory worth thinking about again to feel a sense of gratitude and appreciation. Other times it’s a pattern of thinking that isn’t doing anything to serve me and is only causing me more suffering.

If you don’t journal, I suggest you consider it. If nothing else, the act can help you free up some valuable mental storage space. Getting things out of your head and on paper can be wonderfully liberating and can lead to better productivity — after all the first step to getting things done is to capture that which needs to be done.

Starting in high school, through college, and continuing during the first few years of my career I always told myself that ‘I really should journal.’ ‘Should’ never got it done. I finally broke through and starting journaling on a regular basis when I turned it from a ‘should do’ to a ‘must do.’ Now I have 2+ years’ worth of entries to look back on.

As a quick side note, if you want to create new habit, first, create strong reasons. Push will wear you out. You need to find a pull — a deeper calling or purpose. Then do it for 30 days. Make a commitment. Shift from ‘should’ to ‘must.’ Follow through!

For this post I’m deciding to open up my personal journal. I’m sharing an entry, in the form of a short poem, that I wrote in late 2017. I recently rediscovered this entry and was struck by some of themes and the general ‘easiness’ in how it reads.

Admittedly, I don’t typically open up this much on a personal level. Being more vulnerable and, perhaps more importantly, sharing my thoughts rather than withholding them is something I’m working on. So, this post serves two purposes: it allows me to practice being more open and it hopefully allows me to share a level of insight that is valuable for others.

I hope you enjoy!

-Mike

Written on December 22, 2017

Searching for the feeling I get when I’m home

Listening to the current flow

Sometimes gentle, sometimes strong

Always moving forward, wearing down everything it its’ path

Off in the distance is the next mountain to climb

It’s tall, sturdy, and steady

It likes to put up a fight, but doesn’t mind to lose

The mountain feels proud when conquered — the sign of ultimate sportsmanship

I jump from rock to rock on my path

I touch the water when I want, feeling the strength through my body and in my mind

The best place on earth

Others are there and we smile together feeling grateful for having discovered it

I don’t want to be anywhere else right now

No fear, no pain, no expectations

The best place for me. Present. Still.

Feeling the air — in and out, in and out

Health, safety, peace