Live in Balance: The Blog Challenge theme reveal and a giveaway

Picking a Theme for the challenge

The theme for my A-to-Z Blog Challenge in April is not something I dreamed up for the sake of filling my blog with 26 posts. In fact, it is an outflow of my Live in Balance goals for this year.

Since I have been keeping a journal for more than 30 years, I wondered why it took me this long to came up with the idea for the blog challenge. I have also been reading up on the topics of happiness and creative journal writing and would love to share with you some of the things I have learned.

So here goes...from 1 April I will be posting about Journal Writing in the Pursuit of Happiness in 26 parts. A post for each letter of the alphabet. Keep an eye out for posts on Sundays to get a preview of the posts coming that week.

The three Ps

A-B-C is perhaps not the best acrostic to explain the concept of Creative Journal writing. Instead, I decided to use three Ps instead:

Private: Journal writing is not a group activity. You don't share your journal. Make sure it is kept in a secure place to ensure your absolute privacy.

Personal: This is about you. Your personal issues, experiences, observations, growth, musings, etc. We seldom make time for ourselves, but we need to and journal writing is one way of doing exactly that.

Process: It may sound weird, but journal writing has no end goal. There is no target to be achieved, either in the individual entries nor any time frame that may exist in your mind. It is a process: of self-discovery, observation of yourself, your environment, and your experiences of your world. It is what you want to it be: a sympathetic ear, a prayer book, a companion, a therapist, or all of these and more. And the best of all - you decide what kind of journal you will keep, and you can change the style, the depth, and your method of journal writing whenever you want.

I have noticed that often people say that they don't know what to write about. If you feel panic setting in at the thought of keeping a journal, there is absolutely no need. There are many books, and even more online resources to help you find your way.

The most important part is just to get going. A pen and any notebook will do that job. No fancy writing instruments or elegant notebooks (although some people prefer them) required.

What we are going to write about

This is the blog series I mentioned on 6 March. I am inviting you to explore the concept of happiness through journal writing with me. I will also provide a prompt upon occasion.

The prompt will be for a written and/or and art entry for that day. Keeping a journal can also be a creative outlet, and I will provide all the instructions, and pictures, to show you what you need.

Artistic skills are not required.

I mean, you can tear out a piece of newspaper and make a colourful mess on it, can't you? It will be that easy. No drawing, or complicated painting, or sculpting required. If you do know your way around a paint brush, or a charcoal stick, by all means, explore the prompt in your preferred medium or style. There are no rules, nor any limitations in keeping a journal. The only rule (if there ever was one) is being honest with yourself. This journey is for you, and only for you.

And there goes my pants...

When the word 'prompt' appears in the title of the post, be sure that the post of the day will also be my response to that same prompt. *gulp*

Of course, it will be the same as taking my proverbial pants off in public by doing that, but what would be the point of taking a risky journey if there is no risk taking involved?

Subscribe to win

About the book -> http://buff.ly/2nzMZ4y

A last word... as mentioned in my previous post, four people stand a chance to win a small swag pack by signing up for my mailing list before the end of March.

• The swag pack is limited to South African residents only.
• However, for international friends signing up, I will give a discount voucher to an additional four winners of the ebook version of JOURNEY.
• You don't need to take part in the Blog Challenge (but I would love it if you did!) or buy any of my books to be eligible to win.

So, are you brave enough to embark on this journey to happiness with me?