The Power of Journaling: Cultivating Creativity, Balance, and Calm Through Pen and Paper

I’ve always had a notebook of some kind by my side to catch stray notes, lists and other scribbles. If something is weighing on me or if I am trying to work something out I turn to my notebook. For a long time I didn’t realize that these bits and pieces that fill up pages was a form of journaling. But slowly I began to see that the words I confided to the page were evidence of the way I process the world. The more I wrote the better I felt in my life. When I look back on these notebooks I see evidence of me. I see markers for a life I wanted then but didn’t know how to create. Now I see that these notebooks were taking me in the direction I needed.

Having a journaling practice is not only central to my work as a writer — I get so many ideas when I sit down to journal! —but essential to my general well-being. When I am feeling out of balance or when I am going through a tough time, sitting down with pen and paper to sift through thoughts and feelings always restores me. 

Journaling is a sensorial activity that can have a calming effect. The sound of the pen running across paper and the rhythm of my hand forming letters soothes me. I see journaling as a portal to self-expression and to self-knowledge. Just jotting down a list of what is on one’s mind can be revealing. It can lead to solutions or aha moments. 

When I was healing from a health crisis that had me bed-ridden for many weeks, journaling was an accessible activity that kept me company. Over time, these daily entries worked their way into my writing. I can trace my newsletter Letters from Rome back to the journal I kept during that time. Those entries referenced what I was learning in this ancient city that I live in, but more importantly, they spoke of what I was feeling, of how the Eternal City made me feel.

For me, that is the most compelling reason to take up journaling: to allow ourselves to feel what we feel. Nobody ever has to read what we write in our notebooks, but if we can allow ourselves to feel freely in the safety of our journals and express who we are, we are on the right track to living healthy and authentic lives.

If you are interested in incorporating journaling into your day I offer free seasonal journaling prompts which can be downloaded here. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a simple prompt, it just might brighten your day: 

What makes you smile? Make a quick list of all the things that have ever brought a smile to your face. Try it. I bet you’ll smile as you remember.