Dear Diary...

I haven't done much scrapbooking lately.

I think that it's a combination of having too much on, not enough inspiration and, quite frankly, that I've been spending my time on other things (like running and messing around on Facebook). But I have been writing on my journal, which I hadn't really done in a good loooong time.

I often wonder if it's worth still keeping a journal when almost everything I do these days is documented in blogs, in scrapbook layouts and even in emails. If scrapbooking is about leaving a legacy, then I definitely have that covered! I like to believe that in some distant future someone will sit down and read all my journals and albums and be able to put together a great portrait of what I was like, what my life was like and what I was all about.

So yes, sometimes I think it's time to ditch the journal and move on to all the other media I have embraced. But then I take out the book, the pen and something happens... I open my soul to a blank page. Somehow I can't quite do this on my layouts or blog because there is something about ink and paper and my handwriting that brings out my deepest secrets.

Also, on a more practical level, my journal is truly private: for my eyes only. It has always been this way and even though others have read parts (and sometimes without my permission) I still consider those words to be between me and myself. So there's no point pretending and hiding things I want to be kept hidden but rather I use the paper to explore those ideas, describe my dreams and maybe even vent a little.

I know scrapbookers that write a lot of personal stuff on their layouts and I applaud them (especially as those layouts are often in magazines!) but I can't do that. I will open my soul a little and perhaps record a special thought or two, but some memories are best kept private or, even, secret.

So even though I don't journal as often as I used to, I have kept it going. It's good for me and I actually quite like it. Yes, it's also risky to have private thoughts on such an accessible format but I wouldn't have it any other way.

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