Journaling Class

I am taking a journaling class through my public library. Me? A journaling class? I already am an avid journaler, aren't I? What do I need to learn that I don't already know? Well, there is always that quadrant in the Johari window, isn't there? That quadrant that is for what others know that I don't know? And maybe, just maybe, there might be something in this course that could illuminate something there for me. Right there - that Blind Spot up on the top right corner. Now, to be fair, it might not be so much 'what others know about me that I don't know about me' as much as what others know that I don't know. Either way, that's why I decided to take this course - what new ways of journaling could I discover that might contribute something heretofore unknown to my life. 

In the second lesson, we set our intentions, our goal. So, this is what I wrote: 

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Goal for this assignment: 

I am going to make use of two journals I already have for this – a hard-cover lined book and my online blog l-chaya (loosely for To Life!’ … “My Challenge to New Life”. I created this many years ago for similar purposes – to challenge myself to do something with consistency and this blog keeps me accountable. I'll resurrect it for this assignment!)

Topics – The hardcover book is something very new to me: it has been designated already as my Commonplace Book. My intention for it (before this class) was to  ‘listen’ to things I encounter through reading, viewing, conversing, and copy them in there. The intention is to listen for God’s voice throughout my day and document it, particularly around the question, “What now?”. What I will add for this class is to include a personal handwritten reflection on why that imprinted on me as God’s voice, what was it about that bit that made me think there was a message in there for me, and what might that message be. In the blog, I want to write on my Ikigai. Ikigai means "a reason to get up in the morning" and, from the work I've already done, is a reflection on Passions (what I love), Gifts (where I excel), Values (how I see the world), and Possibilities (where I can make a difference). This is similar to your Career Journal, but there’s a bit more. I think this is my chance to bring it to words and not just thoughts, specific to me. (I'm at a significant point in my life and am searching for direction; this plays into that desire and quest.) 

Software – Blogspot for the Challenge

SMART Goal:

For the next 6 weeks, I will write 24 journal entries: 2/week in my Commonplace Book and 2/week in my Challenge blog, plus a final entry at the end.

- The entries for my Commonplace Book will be encountered words from other people and places through which I feel God is speaking to me and I will reflect on what I feel God is saying to me through these words of others, particularly about my purpose.

- The entries for my blog will be around my Ikigai (Passions, Gifts, Values, Possibilities); each entry will be a personal reflection on some aspect of these, from my Commonplace book, from my day’s encounters, my thoughts, books I read, etc.

- At the end of the 6 weeks, I will write a final reflection in the blog as to what my conclusions are at that point from all this writing: do I have a possible answer to the question, What now? And, if so, what is it? If not, then the question to answer is: so now what? 

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 See it? right there! Two entries per week in this blog, focusing on my Ikigai. So, even though a week has already gone, I will still write 12 entries here, on some aspect of my Ikigai. And then, at the end, one more entry to pull it all together. Am I ready? Let's see what I might discover from this that I don't already know!

 The sound of the horn ... and we're off!