This post is especially about people of my generation, though everyone will deal with these issues sooner or later. Journal writing is key to navigating what can be a treacherous road as we age.
No use hiding it: I am an aging baby boomer. And yeah, I know that everyone grows old and every generation must wrestle with the loss of youth.
But those of us who came of age during the 60s and 70s were particularly idealistic. We invented our world, and didn’t trust anyone over 30. Peace, love, and flowers may sound hokey, but we were earnest about it. We collectively believed we would make everything better.
Whether or not we did achieve our lofty objectives, now we're facing our personal twilight years. Back then we were optimistic and proudly defiant. Now we’re alarmed to realize that we will die soon. Things are changing, we’re losing control; even our favorite passions are fading.
And not only that, the world around us is hardly recognizable anymore. We often find it difficult to relate. We're disconnected!
When you look carefully at it, life is clearly a process of whittling down to what is essential. When you examine your real needs, so much that you thought was important reveals itself as superfluous.
In the end, you have to get out of your own way, and let the river flow.
A journaling week around baby boomer blues and bliss might look something like this:
Wednesday – Memory Lane
Journal about your experience in your teens and 20s. What were you doing, hoping, believing?
Thursday – Looking Ahead
What are your current thoughts and beliefs about the years ahead for you? What will they contain, and how and when will they end?
Friday – Rock’n’Roll
What activity or process is still with you, one that characterized you in your youth as well? Are you still a music devotee, do you love to travel, do you eat too much or too easily fall in love? Whatever part of you that links with your youth – indulge that part today! Then in your journal, write about it in the 3rd person: “Sara went to the free concert in the park tonight and she was transported! She thought about how she should do that more often.”
Saturday – Do the Work
If we want liberation, we have to make an effort, and show we’re willing to give in order to get the job done. So it’s time to write out the current situation. Allow plenty of time for this, in a leisurely journaling session.
Who are you these days? What are you doing? What makes you happy/unhappy? What’s holding you back?
Describe how you get in your own way. “I don’t exercise, but I think I should.” “Those ugly thoughts I have about X make things worse for me.” “I really want to slow down but I’m worried about money.”
Sunday – All Kinds of Dreams
Looking back over your adult life, what dreams did you have? Which were fulfilled, which not? How do you react emotionally to making this written accounting of your dreams?
Monday – Making Connections
Sure, you have your routine, and you prefer your comfortable ways. Today, though, break out of the box by making a brand new connection. This could be offering a cheerful word to the cashier at the corner store; or befriending a lost puppy; or even striking up a conversation with someone on Twitter. If you’re especially brave, talk to someone you suspect will disagree with you. And then journal around questions like: Why is it a challenge to make a new connection? How do I overcome the challenge? What’s the benefit to me in meeting new people/beings?
Tuesday – The Continuum
You’ve looked at the past and the future, you’ve affirmed the good parts and honestly assessed how you’re doing now. You know how necessary dreams are, even though many of them fail to come true. You’ve reached out to another soul for renewal.
What’s next?
That’s not all there is, my friend. Keep dancing.
Journal about how you will do that.
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Are you a baby boomer who journals? I'm currently open to guest posts on journaling as it relates to issues my generation faces, like supporting parents and kids all at once, or body changes, or loneliness, or money problems, or ... Please email me!
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