The Pen and The Journal

Summary

The article "The Pen and The Journal" emphasizes the profound personal significance and transformative power of journaling and writing for the author.

Abstract

The author of "The Pen and The Journal" reveals that their writer's survival kit consists of just three essential items: a Dr. Grip pen, a journal, and the metaphorical Ruby Red Shoes. Journaling, a practice the author has maintained for over three decades, is as integral to their daily routine as basic hygiene or coffee. It serves as a tool for problem-solving, spiritual connection, and healing. The journals document the author's personal journey, transforming nightmares into enlightenment and guiding them through spiritual questioning. The act of writing is described as a source of validation, wisdom, and empowerment. The author's journals have also extended into their blogging life, sharing words to inspire others. The physical act of writing is seen as a reflection of the present moment, reinforcing self-acceptance. The author plans to be buried with their journals, viewing their legacy as the actions and growth inspired by their daily writings rather than the words themselves.

Opinions

The author believes that journaling is a magical process that keeps them centered and connected to their inner spirit.
Writing is perceived as a problem-solving activity and a place to hear one's inner wisdom.
The journals are considered to have healing powers and serve as a record of the author's life journey, symbolized by the Ruby Red Shoes.
The author's spiritual path has reframed childhood fears into a colorful journey towards enlightenment.
The pen is seen as a conduit for the author's present moments, providing a reflection that confirms their enough-ness.
Blogging is an extension of the author's journaling, intended to empower others with their words.
The author values the permanence and clarity that writing brings, helping to filter out daily external influences.
The author holds a strong belief in the importance of their journals, wishing them to be buried as a physical testament to their legacy.
The act of writing is the cornerstone of the author's survival kit, not just for writing but for all aspects of their life, shaping their purpose and roles.

The Pen and The Journal

Where the magic begins

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The Pen and the journal create the magic of survival for me. Friday’s prompt for my Wild and Wonderous week asks the question, “What is in your Writer’s Survival Kit? If you look deeply into my survival kit, it contains a mere three things. My Dr. Grip pen, one of the varied journals either published by me or gifted to me, and the magic of the Ruby Red Shoes.

Journal writing is a survival tool I started over three decades ago. It evolved into morning pages and now is ingrained into the start of each day, like brushing my teeth or my 1st cup of coffee. I am out of sync without these daily starters.

Writing keeps me centered and connected to my spirit. It is the place where problems are solved, big and small, and where I can magically hear my inner wisdom. It is a magical place of validation for ideas and my thoughts. It has healing powers beyond measure.

It holds the journey of the Ruby Red Shoes dancing on my yellow brick road of life. Reiterating, I have always had the magical power of the shoes; I just needed to learn to believe in it. My spiritual path turned a reoccurring childhood nightmare into a colorful, magical journey into enlightenment.

The tattoo on my back was born within my pages, as it turned the Wicked Witch’s tower into a stone castle with light beams permeating through the windows. Or how, early on, when I questioned the term GOD, my journal brought the angel Michaelangelo to sit on my shoulder to guide me.

My journals extended into my blogging life and my desire to share my words to empower others. The power of my words is often the only truths I feel I hear. I know, eventually, the honesty will fly off the pages and land between my ears. My pen is the flow of my present moments to glare back at me and shows me I am enough, just as I am.

To watch the blank pages, I have created, bound within my creative visions on the cover, is my flow in life. It brings “knowing” into a permanence to see clearly through all the outside influences I encounter daily.

Years ago, I instructed my eldest that all the boxes full of old journals be buried with me — they are that much a part of my physical world. I feel my legacy is to leave them with the spirit of ME, in my actions that evolved from those daily thoughts, not words written years ago.

Yes, my pen, my journal, and the magic of my metaphorical Ruby Red Shoes are all I need in my writer’s survival kit. Heck, it is the foundation of what I need in all aspects of my survival. It has built the framework for my purpose in this lifetime. My empowerment in each of the roles and labels attached to me. Whether that is as a mom, a partner, a friend, a survivor, a teacher, a facilitator, an advocate, a teacher, trainer, facilitator, or simply “just jules,” My life has morphed from surviving to thriving with each stroke of the pen. I am forever grateful for that.