Are YOU Ready for 21 Days of Journaling…

 

What you need to know for the upcoming 21 Days of Journaling in July is right here!

The countdown is on, and I want to set your mind at  ease…or ablaze depending on what it takes to get the job done. Whether you are a journaling Ninja or a Sh-sh-shaking in your shoes but aching to write regularly beginner,  this 21 day series will bring you to new places.

First let’s get rightly acquainted. These prompts were originally penned in January 2014 during a morning journaling session of my own. This is the third time this journey has been undertaken here at Enthusiastically, Dawn. The first year we hit the ground running with 21 Days of Journaling in June. At that time I was busy drafting and tweaking these original blog posts and intended on writing along with my fellow journal keepers. Time was NOT on my side and with additional writing commitments I did not end up writing daily for the full 21 day series. This led me to optimistically prepare for the next round by using the same prompts, and checking in weekly with a Blog Post on random journaling topics. Thus the 21 Days of Journaling in January was  born. My plan was to continue on from where I left off. I made a fresh new section in the same journal, determined to keep up this time, but once more, I failed, managing to write on one prompt only! In my defense, I was busy writing a lot in my personal journal, blog and involved in my local writer’s group.

But still  you may be  thinking -Dawn, if you did not do the 21 Days, how will I?

Well, the fact is I have written on these prompts, for they came from many of the things I have thought out on paper, wrestled with and scribbled down in my own journaling life. But truth be told, I’m the chick who loves to do something until it’s a MUST DO! I am the writer who is most often “off topic” at my writer’s  group and extremely prompt resistant. That is why I have given multiple ways of coming to the prompt table. Consider it a Buffet. Help yourself to what you want, leave the rest. Take as much or as little as you need to be prompted to write. Remember, if your muse leaves you stranded, feel free to ignore her/him and write as you wish. Don’t let that muse dictate your freedom to choose whether you will follow or not. Don’t be bullied by your muse or me! You have permission to come at the prompt anyway you want and you can go wherever it leads.

Personally I “Journal” with pen and paper, BUT journaling is not bound by this one medium. However it is worth considering as a side-note especially for you who share your writing/journaling  publicly, the true definition of  journal implies a private relationship with words. When we write knowing we will share our words there is a level of intimacy that is stifled. So, if you want to be a better blogger, writer, creative, I suggest (gently) that you consider journaling for your eyes only. Journaling as a private activity will bring insights that can only be accurately explored in the context of intimacy with self, pen and paper and the Unseen Presence we know is always present. You can then determine what you want to share from that place, if at all.

That is not to say you cannot share or should not share, it is only to say, perhaps consider keeping a separate private journaling time, when  you can examine and explore your own thoughts, dreams, desires, curiosities without baring all. My journal is the springboard of everything I write and create publicly. BUT it is primarily private.

The benefit I have noticed in this practice is a never-ending supply of inspiration; a well that never goes dry. There is a secret life and place we all need to go to be with ourselves. All the World may be a Stage, but we don’t need to appear in every act. We need to be refreshed behind the scenes. It’s crucial in order to be your best at whatever you’re aiming to do creatively. Journals are that place!

Consider your Journal your secret place. A place you can go to repair and refill the empty pots of your life. What a gift journals can be to we who choose to keep them.

Now, about the Journey:

1. There is a printable PDF available. Included is a Prompt Tracker. Please, I hope you will find this helpful and it will be available during the 21 Days of Journaling free. I would ask you not share it but send those who would like to copy, to the page for their own copy. The final revised version will be available the week of July 4th. The link to receive it by email is on the 21 Days of JOurnaling Your Journey Page/Tab, right here.
2. I have revised and edited the prompts AND added new content  for this latest journey. So if you have participated before it won’t really matter, since we come at the prompt in a number of ways.
3. I will be doing a number of short videos to go along with our writing prompts.I will coach you and cheer you on.
4. There is no pressure or stress, and I wish you success in this latest journaling endeavor, however you define that for your personal journaling experience.
5. Don’t make it complicated. If you only have 10-15  a day minutes a day o invest in this journaling series, then do it! Whatever time you spend will be time well spent! It is your “Me” time. Light a candle, grab a beverage, find a place that helps you focus and offers least (or no) distractions…unless of course you have no choice or you function well that way.
6. If you share on a blog or social media, please be sure and link here as appropriate- you are also free to share the image.
7. Social Media hashtag is for us to use will be #21dayJIJ.
8. All posts will be on the 21 Days of Jounraling Journey page for ease of access. Just go to the top of Blog Page to Journal Tab, hover over “Journaing” from there you can access   21 Days o  Journaling in July as well as  other journaling opportunities!

 

If you have any questions or I can help in any way send an email to dawn.paoletta@gmail.com. Thanks for joining me in the journey!

 

Happy Journaling!

PS. Please not that the Journaling as a Lifestyle will be continued soon!