Writing for me and for you- Part two
The audio was recorded this last Sunday and sets the scene to the text. Do listen first, if you wish.
To illustrate how I find writing so useful, I will briefly describe a stressful situation.
Last week, my laptop suddenly lost all power, then the internet went down, and this last Sunday, just as I was about to begin teaching after five weeks of summer holiday, I fell ill. On Sunday morning I got out of bed groggy, a body like lead with pains and thought I had a virus or infection.
My router had been changed but had malfunctioned again. Open reach was booked to come out to see what the problem was. My lesson for the next day was finished (using internet data on my mobile phone and pen and paper) but I didn’t know whether I would be well enough to return to work. My two lessons for Wednesday were unfinished and swirling around in my head. My students were waiting to start again and I had promised a teacher (not from England) a Zoom call on a Monday afternoon. I went out for a walk to get some air and to try and feel better.
Earlier in the week, when this change of events started to kick off, I got my present journal out and started writing. With all this going on, including a new kitchen installation planned months ago for the summer (so we could eat salad and not feel cold with the open doors). On Monday morning, I felt a bit better and as the day progressed, I improved and I attended work and managed the Zoom meeting.
Writing as therapy
I have learnt that when problems present themselves, you write them down and say how you are feeling. Then one week later, or however long it takes, go back to it and see if those problems were as bad as you thought. Today, I can write- resolved and how. My health has improved whilst waiting for a test result after seeing the doctor. Writing this way has made me realise that everything can work out and it’s not worth getting too anxious about anything. This has helped me enormously with habitual, low-grade anxiety and I would highly recommend it.
Writing in a journal
I have never been great at just recording events in a diary. I find that dull, but when I do record something, I try to write for the memories, how it felt, what was noticed, who was there and even what the weather was like. I started one notebook when I was 50 and sometimes there are months in between entries. That doesn’t matter. It is good to recap and see how life has evolved. I will continue until the book is finished.
Writing for gratitude
I have written small notes, kept them in little bags, jars or boxes and dated them for anything that has happened that I’m grateful for, or for asking in prayer form for something specific. It is heartening to read them back. There have been some profound and touching statements. I have been very moved by some of them and many of my heartfelt desires have come true.
Writing for specific reasons:
In 2018, I started a social history diary where I write about wider issues of the day- politics, climate change, major events and where I predict what might happen in the future. I have recorded the centenary celebrations of WW1, Brexit, the Pandemic, General Elections, the Ukraine war and what is happening in Gaza. I want to leave it to my family. I also have a hunch that ink and pen writing will become scarcer as texting and the digital age will make old-fashioned pen and paper writing rarer.
Writing at the end of the day and detecting patterns
Last year, I was in a job that I absolutely hated for six months. It was a needs-must kind of work. I wrote in a type of journal that had tick boxes of positive and negative feelings. I would record these at the end of the day and quickly realised the patterns of what and whom that made me both happy and sad. It was very enlightening, and it helped make some decisions that had to be made. In spite of needing income I gave up the job and an opportunity that was much better came along instead. It was very useful to learn from and now looking back I was proud of coming through it all.
So, I hope I have given you some ideas to think about. Writing this has reinforced why I do what I do and I encourage you to give it a go too. I finished this post late last night finally getting back on track after a stressful week.
Until next time……
