Journaling Out Loud

In the past when anyone suggested that I write my thoughts in a journal I resisted. It felt restrictive, trying to put words down fast enough to keep up with a torrent of contemplations. Just let your thoughts flow, they’d say. Because it would help me find my way through hidden issues, to relieve emotional pressures, to discover new paths of deliberating. Instead, swirls of perception and intuition formed intricate patterns on the surface of my mind, much like salty eddies in the ocean —not to be written down but internalized for later reflection and possible action.

Turning the page, now I’m journaling out loud as it were, writing a blog —a streaming consciousness of my journey through the early months of retirement. Why?

Because I’m a writer. Because often in life I end up writing down what I wish someone else had written so I could have read it at a time when I needed it most. In doing so it is as much for myself as for any reader. I have said that many times I read my own sentences even as I write them, as if they are new to my own discernment. Then I smile: internalized perception and intuition awaiting my keystrokes.

In writing this blog I’m imposing a kind of self-monitor into my life, a way to evaluate my progress in the evolution of my perceptions as I move forward into a relatively uncharted future. Other than the common denominators of family, a few continuing close friendships, my ongoing exercise programs, my book club involvement, and my starting a new quilting project, my future is categorically open ended.

For the remainder of this year, I will continue blogging weekly to finish an initial 6-month period. After that I plan to journal out loud on a more leisurely schedule –whenever the mood strikes or when a pertinent topic arises. Meanwhile, Happy Thanksgiving to all!