[Blubayou]

In an age of blogging- I started thinking about keeping a journal. This summer I bought a nice leather journal and I have a favorite writing tool, an old fountain pen. I really wanted to do this as an exercise to keep my mind from turning to mush. Well, I have been journaling since May and I must say I have really enjoyed it and have experienced some real benefits. My journal has several purposes, some days it is a prayer journal, some days it is a praise journal, some days it is a shoulder to cry on and some days it is just a gripe session! I have found it very cleansing- things that are bothering me, I write it down and leave it there. Now, I have always heard that this was the case with writing stuff down, but I never believed it. Someone recommended that I keep a journal when I was given a very difficult job- to be a principal at an inner city school to clean it up and develop it into a higher preforming school. I did not then, because the job required me to work 16 hour days and when I got home, I did not want to rehash the day. I regret it now, it would have made a good book or at least journal article, and it would have helped me put things into prospective. I wanted to share this with my AFF friends- to recommend it as a tool to use in your toolbox of coping skills. Do any of you journal?