One reason why we are increasingly focused on journal writing these days is that the practice relates intimately to 21st century ideas about learning and our relationship to Truth.
You may have heard the news that Encyclopedia Britannica is ending production of its printed books. This is not surprising, given the rise of digital information sharing. What I find interesting is a viewpoint shared by the inimitable Seth Godin, as he notes that Britannica claims its online encyclopedia trumps Wikipedia for accuracy. Godin says, "(Britannica) seeks to end the quest for information… Wikipedia … on the other hand, starts the quest."
The time is fast approaching when we can no longer trust any one source for the truth. Learning today is a matter of opening doors, rather than acquiring a cache of answers.
Journaling, too, is how we learn about ourselves by opening doors and asking questions. It's very hard to lie in your journal, at least for long. For that matter, unless you want to expose your mind and heart to an authentic quest, you probably won't start journaling at all.
And while we earnestly try to state the truth in our journals, we also recognize that today's truth may differ significantly from tomorrow's, and that it is much more about the process than it is about final answers.
You start journaling because you have questions, because you don't know what to write, you don't know what you know or don't know. There is no end in mind; rather your journal is a path that goes in spirals.
There's delicious irony in this realization. Journal Writing is an unending quest, but your journal is also your home. It's a combination of restlessness and peace, seeking and knowing, being and becoming. It's always fluid, never finished.
For some, the idea that there are no final answers, no Truth set in concrete, is extremely frightening. But that's okay if you are engaged in personal journaling, because you will explore the Truth you cling to and those explorations will be your gentle guide to wherever is right in your particular case.
If you're not a journaler, however, and you fear a world where the Truth is not certain, you may be handicapped in the areas of learning and personal growth.
In this enormous global society, we can no longer live by the dictums of one publication. Our future lies in asking questions, not in having answers.
What truths have you come to know better, thanks to Journaling? Please tell us your stories.
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