Journaling: A Portrait in Words
by Kate Dellis-Stover • Huntington Station, NYå

I am fifty-four years old and I have been journaling since I was fifteen. It has led me on a journey of self-discovery like no other discipline I’ve ever experienced. Journaling is emancipating. In my journal, I am free to write whatever is on my mind and in my heart without fear of judgment. I can write “whatever falls into my head,” or fill those pages with observations and reactions to life events. The process helps clarify my thinking and sharpens my feelings.

I have collected many, many journals over the years. When I look back on them, I am reminded of what I was living through and how it affected me: family challenges, failed relationships, angry confrontations, loving observations of nature, and simply records of ordinary days that show me who I was at the time. My journals are precious to me because they are mine and mine alone.

I have the option to keep my journal completely private or to share sections of it when I feel it is appropriate. Knowing that I can be perfectly free in my expression lets me say whatever I need or want to say. Being able to share parts of my journal with those close to me allows them to get to know me in a way that is deeply unique. Some of my friends and those close to me have been surprised by what I had to say. The words and thoughts are honest and bare. There is no room for pretense.

Journaling has helped me grow spiritually. It has let me travel far, far within myself to discover that still, small voice within, which for me, is the source of all true creativity. That voice is pure and powerful and always filled with light. I have come to respect it, be in awe of it, and follow the path it leads me on. I must be still and focused to get to the place where I can experience its effects. It is a rare “dialogue” I can develop with this place of magic and transformation.

I have learned over time that it is greatly helpful for me to create a rich and peaceful environment in which to journal. I need silence, a comfortable chair, no interruptions, and a very special journaling book which is truly beautiful to me. I must love its texture, its color, the design on the cover, and the quality of the paper – lined or unlined. There is a true ritual to my journaling. At times I will light a candle to mark the spiritual aspect of the exercise. This helps me get closer to the words which come from my soul.

I am convinced that I slowly developed into a writer due to my journaling. The journaling exercise is not structured, but doing it long enough and honestly enough has brought me gems which I could turn into poems or stories. Journaling has given me gifts I could not have received any other way. And the greatest gift of all has been this: It has shown me who I am and what I can become. When confused or down-trodden, it has brought me back to myself. I will be forever grateful for discovering journaling at such an early age. It has, amazingly enough, made me the person who I am today.

Kate Dellis-Stover is a published writer, workshop facilitator and keynote speaker, and has appeared on New York’s PBS Channel Thirteen. For ten years, Kate worked in the mental health field reaching out to those who struggle just to get through the day. Email her at Stover01@optonline.net.