A friend of mine shared a blog article from “The Art of Manliness” that inspired me to take up writing in a journal, again. Pen & paper, old-fashioned writing. The article was about penmanship, and it was compelling. Poor penmanship is common because schools no longer want to teach cursive.
While penmanship is a good reason to pick up journaling again with pen & paper, there was one particular section in the article that really was the impetus for me to start:
We’re big proponents of journaling around these parts. While I’ve experimented with digital journals, I keep coming back to my trusty paper journal. And I think it has to do with the meditative qualities handwriting has, particularly cursive writing. Synchronizing continuous hand movement with thought puts me in a state of flow that I can’t get with typing or even writing block letters. Whenever I’m typing, I have a tendency to second guess myself and hit “delete” when a sentence doesn’t come out right. Because there’s no delete button with cursive handwriting, I spend less time judging what I’m writing and more time just getting lost in the process. The result is a feeling of calmness and flow.
The quality of thought is higher when we write the old-fashioned way. We can solve nagging problems and overcome writer’s block. I don’t need to boot up a computer or deal with the cramped space on a mobile phone when writing with pen and paper. I just pick up a pen and write.
I figured I could better fight what Stephen Pressfield calls “the Resistance” if I can keep a journal around me and find time to just write two-pages in it a day. Whatever I write can be transcribed to my blog. So, I’ll have regular content. The added bonus is I get to practice my penmanship, again.
Dear Holy Spirit, bless the author of the article and my friend who shared it. I pray that you will find my journaling an acceptable form of prayer. If so, please give me the grace to persist in it. Help me reflect, through journaling, on the Word of God and my conscience. I ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.