Super Journaling

I've got this new thing that I do.  It makes me feel so cool and so hip.  Like, major cool in my book.  I've picked up journaling, yet again.  I've been journaling off and on since I was in elementary school.  I still have that first journal with that first journal entry about riding my bike and stepping in dog poop, which is very noteworthy to a 10-year-old.

Today's journaling is not just any journaling.  It's super-journaling.  What's super about it?  Well, I kinda have to be in the mood for it.  Sometimes, I make myself be in the mood for it because it's so rewarding when I'm done.  It's like being on a journey that I take myself on without knowing where I'm going, but not as serious sounding as that.  

Super journaling is what I call it, but the practice has been around for a while.  I was first introduced to it in 7th grade.  I loved it!  English was my worst subject, but journaling was my jam.  Doesn't everyone love to say they journal, verb not noun.  I admit, that sometimes I like the idea of journaling instead of actually doing it.  Except super journaling.
 


English was my first period class, to which I was usually late, and we would start off the class with 10 minutes of journaling.  We could write whatever we wanted to write, but the only rule was that we couldn't stop writing.  We had to keep that pen moving.  Even if we wrote, "I have nothing to write about.  The walls are khaki.  What should I write about."  

Just a few weeks ago, I tried it again.  It's great.  I don't think that I'm ever going to go back to plain old, thoughtful entries.  No, I want it on paper.  Everything.  Without screening myself.  Without editing.  I want it all.  

As I mentioned in an earlier post, sometimes I get a little time to myself every so often.  I don't need much.  In fact, time to myself is still a little awkward.  Being an extrovert, I've never needed it until now.  I just need a little space to stop and think.  A few weeks ago, I packed a Meg-Bag, and headed to the river.  I took some pictures, walked around, but mainly I just sat on the dock and spent some time super journaling.  It was wicked.  

I've done it a few times since then.  It usually has to happen outside.  Late at night or early in the morning are the peak times for good thoughts.  If I'm feeling overwhelmed by what I have to do and what I want to do, this little exercise seems to help me have just a brief escape while I recharge.  If I'm having a hard time collecting thoughts to write a post, talk with John, or explain things to Burl, a quick 10 minutes of writing can help me hone in on the subject at hand.  If I just want to feel cool, then sitting outside on my 3 little steps with a journal does just that.  

To my 7th grade teacher, thanks for letting there be no rules except the most important one:
Don't stop writing.