Recording Your Life, Redux

Last month I posted an entry about writing in a journal. I had just started a new journal, this one purchased on a trip to Italy with my wife. It's a nice journal. The pages open wide, the paper is smooth, and it has that feeling of elegance that almost inspires me to be truly profound. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little on that last one.

Since that time, I've had a few new insights into the nature of journaling and the reasons that one might keep a journal and thought I would share a few with you.

I asked you, at the end of that post to comment and let me know how you keep your journal, whether it be fountain pen and parchment or crayon and construction paper. Now, since there are only a few of you reading my blog right now, I wasn't too surprised when I didn't get any response. Don't worry, you didn't hurt my feelings. ;-) Anyway, shortly afterward, I was having a networking lunch with Aimee VonBoken, the artist and web designer who is in charge of Vee Bee Studios. She showed me her diary. Each page had one or more watercolor pictures on it with very little text. Despite the lack of text, though, each page told the story of the ideas and events that she wished to convey.

For many of us, these online venues are journals, too. Now, maybe we don't put our deepest, darkest secrets here (though I'm sure there are a few out there), but we often do capture the errant thoughts, concepts, and themes which inform our lives. Chuck Rozanski, the president of Mile-High Comics sends out a newsletter twice a week which include not only the most recent deep discount comics specials, but also snippets of his day-to-day life. I've never met the man, but I feel like he and his family are dear friends. I look forward to hearing about the seasons of planting and harvest on their organic farm and his search for Native American pottery to add to his collection. I've heard that some criticize him for including this personal information, wanting only their comics news. A vast majority of us, however, love that personal touch which, in this sometimes cold and impersonal world of technology, makes us want to read every word of these letters from a friend whom we may never have met.

So why do you journal? Is it to record your ideas and feelings? Do you write about the goals you have for your life -- your dreams and desires? Do you use your journal to work through problems or difficult times in your life? Or is your journal a way to make contact with others?

Could it be a little of all of these? Let me know what you think.