Speak life into it.
Featured Image: Morning mood, by Nita29art on DevianArt.
Dear Readers,
I would like to tell you about my diaries. At the time I’m writing this, it will be almost a year since I started keeping a diary. My diaries have become some of the most important possessions I own, and I would argue that everyone should have their own. When you start to write in them, you speak life into it, you leave a piece of yourself in those pages. You will belong to your diary just as much as it belongs to you; that requires a more intimate type of trust worth nurturing. Most people cannot be honest with themselves, if they struggle to write it, they most likely can’t even verbalise it.
These are all of my diaries:
When I decided I wanted to start a diary, I wanted to choose something to write in that I found so incredibly beautiful, to encourage myself to use it more. I started off with Peter Pauper Press Journals, but these days I’m starting to write in Paperblanks as well.
Smaller books felt less intimidating to write in when I first started, and it was quicker to fill. The sense of accomplishment I felt when I finished my first diary was big, but I felt an even bigger feeling of emptiness too. It ‘s that same feeling you get when you finish a movie that touched you so deeply, it’s like you’re missing something when it ends; it feels like you’re grieving.
I used to feel so guilty when I wrote a lot about the bad things happening in my life. When I started debating about whether or not I should write about something, it was really me debating if something was worth remembering. I’ve always felt more drawn to write when things weren’t going well, but I find it almost unbearable to read those entries back. Although, for some reason, I can when entries feel sincere even though it’s sad.
When I think about those entries, like me grieving my pets that passed or writing about having my heart broken, I know that those feelings stem from a place of love. It makes me feel better, knowing that I’ve loved. Feelings want to be seen and felt, the pain only comes from trying to pretend that it doesn’t hurt; from trying to ignore the hurt.
Even though I write about all the things that are sitting heavy on my heart, I try to make more of an effort to write when things are going well for me too; I’ve never had to question if that’s worth remembering or not. I started to realize how much I enjoyed doing fun things in my diaries.
To start off, because of how much I love to vent and rant in them, I started a special segment in my writings called The Damnation List, (aka the list of The Damned Ones). It’s a very therapeutic exercise, where I get to reminisce about all the people who have ever wronged me. Alongside that, another activity I like to engage in inside my diaries is one in which I get to color in relaxing images.
My grim humour aside, I truly do like to make my diaries look pretty, I only really do it when I’m feeling passionate. I paste flowers inside, I colour in birds and landscapes, I write down my favorite quotes and keep letters tucked inside envelopes. Sometimes when I’m in the mood to write, but don’t have anything to discuss from my personal life, I pick a topic and start to write about it.
Even though I like decorating my diaries, I decided that I wouldn’t put too much pressure on myself to make it look what I envision to be perfect on the inside. The core purpose of my diaries is for the honesty in them to serve as an act of love towards myself.
I like that having a diary pushes me to think more deeply and to honestly acknowledge what I’m feeling even when it’s ugly. I always find it interesting to see how my opinions and beliefs change as time passes. I had never before realized just how much I do change, and how much about my life I forget. My diaries have become the closest proof I have of the people I used to be.
I also want to tell you about my shared journal with my psychologist. It is almost like a diary, but I don’t call it one. Even though it technically belongs to me, I don’t consider it fully mine since my psychologist has left his mark on it too.
The therapy journal formed when he kept on giving me activities to do. At first I was doing them in my diaries, but then I thought to separate it into another book that was only dedicated for my therapy. While I did the activities, I also started adding in things that I found meaning in. We would go over the book in our sessions, but we never seem to have enough time. Because of that, I started letting him keep the book and I told him I wanted him to contribute to the journal too. Now, every time I have therapy, we exchange the book with each other and get to keep it for two weeks until my next session.
(His handwriting is so much more messier than mine).
I love doing the journal with him, it’s probably the coolest thing I’ve ever worked on. He adds a lot of depth to the book, and no one can challenge you the way a good psychologist can.
Anyway, I just wanted to have a little show & tell about my diaries. I love them so much and I hope I inspired you to maybe consider starting your own if you haven’t already.
Thank you so much for reading my blog, I hope you enjoyed this one!
Do not miss future entries from me!
With love & light, Avoeria.
Beautifully done, your words don’t just live on those pages, they enter other people and encourage them to look the way you have. Extraordinary, keep going.
Keep it up 🙂
What a unique idea, to introduce shared Journaling into the healing process! Wonderful!
A reflective and intimate introduction that gently explores the practice of journaling over time. It highlights personal growth and emotional depth, inviting readers into a meaningful journey of self-expression and memory.
Hello Avoeria,
Thank you so much for liking my post! That’s how I stumbled upon your blog. I’ve also come to understand that writing really brings ideas to life, makes them stronger and, if it touches people, can even make a difference.
That’s one of the reasons I started writing myself, along with trying to share helpful advice based on my own experiences.
Wishing you all the best on your journey and looking forward to reading more of your work!
It’s unbelievable cause I had a purple fairy from that same brand too and my book mark was also a butterfly. Wow girl sometimes you feel like you have the most unique experience and then someone on the internet shows you you aren’t unique at ALL i like journaling too keep at it
Very impactful
Beautiful journals. Analog journaling is something I have always aspired to do but have never been able to keep up with.
Gorgeous journals and drawings! Fellow diarist (journaler?) here. It took me a long to value what I had to say enough to buy a fancy book for my thoughts, but I have finally arrived. 🙂
beautiful entry…and what a special experience to share a journal with your therapist!
I like the idea of using stuff from DA, instead of AI, like I usually do. I used to keep a paper journal, but then two things happened. One, my paranoia about others reading it (have paranoid schizophrenia) and that kinda ruined it for me, but also, I have tardive dyskinesia and that affects my handwriting a great deal. But I love keeping online diaries, they are pretty much the same non?? I’m Sam btw. 🙂 I like your journal(s).
thanks for the like. Your post on diaries is thoughtful, I enjoyed reading it.
I’ve kept a note book nearby for years, more than half a century actually. It’s an affordable substitute for a therapist or good friend. It’s a cheap composition notebook kept in an ancient hand made leather cover stamped “art arbeit amour.” I stream consciousness and freely associate there. When I feel an idea worth illustrating is happening I doodle it to compose it and transcribe a brief ekphrasis to a cloud file/to-do list by typing or dictating. It’s an essential part of the process of getting through, by, and better.
keep at it, both jounaling for self and blogging for others, its worth it
Wow, your diaries are gorgeous! I’m thinking I might want to make mine hardback; right now, they’re only paperback. I have cut the price to the absolute minimum Amazon will allow. I’ve written an original poem on the back cover, “The Olive Press”; it’s based on a blog post I wrote about how Jesus is compared to an olive press. I’ve created several styles of front covers; check them all out before deciding which one you’d like. Or, if you prefer something different, let me know, and I’ll create it for you. I love the love affair you’re having with your diaries. One learns so much about themselves when you start writing and rereading your journals. Thanks for posting your thoughts. I’m excited to read more of your works. My journals are under my pen name Pages Alight in Amazon.
https://a.co/d/0iCi5oio
—-Shirley
Your bird drawings are exceptional!!!! Well done!!!!! 🫰🏻🫰🏻🫰🏻🫰🏻🫰🏻🫰🏻
Your journals are beautiful. I like the idea of writing about things that are worth remembering. My journals are usually cute but very inexpensive ones that I pick up at Reny’s or Dollar Tree! I’m less likely to hesitate to write in that type of journal. I’ve had some fancier ones in the past and it took me years to use them! I also like to embellish the pages of my journals. I feel like it gives more life to them. 🙂
I like how you did some of yours and that you don’t pressure yourself to do it.
Shared journaling and healing, in beautiful bin ings too. Many years ago, the local small publishers had a high street shop in the centre of our small town. They sold staitonery for real letters and journals too, and pens, and inks in many colours – for writing, not tatoos. . Closed for ever to become a branch of Tesco.
Aged 12 to just thirteen, I kept a journal, but in a shared room, another girl found it, read it, left a less than friendly comment,-.
I felt raw, and haven’t kept a journal since. Perhaps my books are instead of a journal ?
Thank you so much for sharing this with me and I’m sorry that happened to you, especially at such a young age. Whatever you wrote in that journal was nothing to be ashamed of, it deserved to be protected and respected. That kind of violation of something so personal can leave a mark that lasts far longer than it should. I’m glad to hear that you found your own version of it in books though!
Hi 👋
I was looking at where my podcast was being distributed and saw that it hadn’t been released to Podbean. What a pleasant surprise to see a new like! I too write and you’ve inspired me to look at journals again. Thanks for stopping by! TTYL 👋
looks realistic
That was beautiful. Love the color coordination. Writing is the best therapy. Continue writing. No one can tell your story like you!