Live in Balance: A to Z Challenge - G is for...

G is for...Gratitude

This is probably the one theme that you will find in every single book about journals and journal writing. But what does it truly mean to be grateful? Is it a list of the things we own (eg. house), the things we are (eg. healthy), the situations we find ourselves in (eg. employed)? Or can there be more than just a list we should be contemplating in our journal entry today?

Would there be a universe if I were not here to appreciate it?

In his course work book, The Journal-Writer's Guide to Staying Started, Nathan Ohren posed the question: Would there be a universe if I were not here to appreciate it? (quoted from page 22)

I'll bet that unless you have done Nathan's course, this would be one question that you would never have thought to write about. It is a philosophical question that you might like to debate with yourself, but there is a fundamental concept hidden in the words of the question - if we live a life of gratitude, it will influence the world around us.

Change yourself, change your world

I am sure you have noticed how people tend to avoid someone who is constantly complaining or always negative about the world around them. The opposite is also true - people are drawn to someone who has a more positive attitude towards life.

Set yourself a challenge for one week: be more mindful of the world and the people around you. Appreciate the beauty of the natural world. Be more grateful towards people who cross your path, especially in the small things that they do. Even something as small as a smile when they greet you in the morning.

Note in your journal how you experience the changes in yourself and the reaction you receive from others. Don't be fake in your approach, people will pick up on that and be distrustful of your intentions. You will also hamper your journey towards happiness if you do.

Be honest in your actions. And share with others (if you want) on how living and being more grateful changed your perspective.

At the end of the week, note in your journal the difference in the list of things that you are grateful for before and after the week.

My change, my world

I have a stressful job, and for years my relaxation time was focused on my writing. At some point I found that writing as an outlet was no longer enough - I needed more.

I have often mentioned that my husband, Francois, is an amazing photographer and I find a lot of pleasure in the way he captures the natural world and the people in it.

As he developed his skills with a camera, I realised that I too could do the same, but through visual art, not a camera.

Is my gratitude centred around my talent (still developing) as an artist, or in the subject matter that I want to capture on paper or canvas?

While I am grateful for my talent, I find the ability in myself and others to showcase our world in art to be the primary source of my appreciation. I don't have to express my gratitude in words, and upon occasion, I find that even with an extensive vocabulary, that there are no words. In those cases I let my pencil and paintbrush do the talking for me.

In doing so, my view of the world around me has changed too. It is not the change alone that I am grateful for. The way my eyes were opened to appreciate the talents of others, the beauty of my country and the smiles on people's faces when they too 'see' what might have been an unnoticeable thing before, has been humbling.

And to you, thank you...

I am guilty of not saying it often enough - thank you. To you my readers, my blog visitors, and followers: thank you for spending the time to read this post. Your time is valuable and these few minutes spent with me is truly appreciated.

Thank you!

 
Note: the A to Z Challenge will continue on Monday, although you can see what my posts for the next 6 letters of the alphabet will be about tomorrow. I hope you will join me then!

Linzé

Live in Balance: A to Z Challenge - F is for...

F is for...Forgiveness

We have to agree this is not an easy topic even for your private journal. While it is hard to forgive someone who wronged us, it can be more difficult to forgive ourselves.

For today's topic, you need to take a long hard look at yourself. What in your life still exists as an obstacle to moving forward?

Who do you still resent about something that was done to you, either intentionally or accidentally?

Old and new resentments hamper us in our journey towards happiness since they drain so much of our energy and emotions. Take the decision today to let go of the hurtful things that are standing in your way.

Write a letter

Start your entry today with the date and time. Note the place and your general emotional condition. Maybe you feel like a prayer, or a few moments of contemplation before you start to write. Please do what you need and then start your entry.

Write a letter to yourself if you need to. If there is someone else you need to forgive, address the letter to him or her. It doesn't matter if the person is dead or alive. Write the letter to cleanse your heart and mind of this burden.

Do not mail the letter if it is addressed to another person. This is an opportunity for you to be honest with your feelings and to move forward without this burden that you may have been carrying for a long time.

When you are done, note the way you feel now after having done so.

If there is more than one person you need to forgive, do not write more than one letter per entry. Emotional entries can be exhausting and you need to let go of the first issue before doing another letter.

Time to move on

Wait a few days then note your feelings about the first letter. Are you ready to move on? Is there still something that you feel you need to forgive with this same person? Or yourself?

If you are not ready, do not force the issue. The time will come when you are ready to address a second issue, or another person that you need to forgive.

Journal writing might help you see more than just the reason you felt wronged. It will be that realisation and the letting go, that will help you grow and move forward.

Live in Balance: A to Z Challenge - E is for...

E is for...Explore

While most people would associate the word 'explore' with activities outside, maybe a little travelling, or going to the local market to find a treasure or two. This time, however, we are exploring one thing that is almost impossible to find in our modern world: silence.

Have you noticed how noisy our world has become? Traffic. Computers. Air-conditioning systems. No matter where you find yourself physically, there is almost always a hum or a buzz going on in your surroundings.

Should we seek out 'silence'?

Take a few minutes to read this article - http://buff.ly/2nL4XO0

When I read the article the first time, I felt overwhelmed by the intensity of the author's experiences. What was the most interesting to me was the end of the article - the experience had not been easy, and yet she was ready to go back to do it all over again. That maybe just her own unique self, but what about the rest of us? Do we seek or avoid the silence?

What do we hear?

In the book, In Pursuit of Silence by George Prochnik, the author himself sought some answers in his pursuit of silence. He visited a monastery and spent some time with monks who spend their lives in silence. What fascinated me was the research George did about the evolution of our hearing and how sad the statistics are on hearing loss.

Did you know our ears are capable of amplifying sound? I didn't know that. If you can imagine the world many, many years ago, there was not so much noise in our environment - no traffic, and certainly no televisions or computers. Back then primitive man needed to be more aware of the slightest sounds around him, his life depended on hearing the threat approach before it was too late.

But our ears are also capable of suppressing sound. And that is nothing new either. Apparently, our own voices were such a strain on our hearing, that the middle ear had to adapt to protect the sensitive inner ear from the 'noise' being generated by our vocal chords.

Hmmm...that could also be the reason that I perceive my voice to sound funny when I hear it played back from a recording. My ears don't like my internal sound generator either! LOL!

Silence is golden, right?

So if we are physiologically designed to live in a more quiet world, why are we accepting the high levels of noise? Do we want to hide from our inner voice by drowning it out with loud music, and technology? Or do we want to find that silence, that place where we can think, dream, and listen to that inner voice?

This question is not answered with a simple yes or no. Consider your surroundings and the noise emanating from it. Is it drowning your inner voice?

Take a few minutes and explore your silence in your journal today. What have you learned? What do you think you can learn if you spend more time in silence?

Need practical ways to find silent time? Check this out - http://buff.ly/2nKQqlm

If you are a writer, you might also like this article - http://buff.ly/2nKIGjq

Book Feature: PROVOCATIVE by Lisa Renee Jones

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Live in Balance: A to Z Challenge - D is for...

D is for...Dare to Dream

When we are children we dream of becoming a pilot, or an astronaut or maybe even a celebrity. But what do we dream about as adults? To have more money? Fame? A peaceful existence?

In her book, The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron implores the reader to rediscover their creative selves. The dreams you had when you were young but were either too fearful to chase or were convinced that such a life was not the responsible thing to do.

There are many reasons why people suppress or ignore their creative sides. Time is one reason that many cites. But what if you made a commitment to explore that side of you again? You make commitments to many things: your work, your family, friends, other responsibilities...but do you make any commitments to yourself? Can you honestly say that by giving so much of yourself to others, and nothing to yourself, can truly lead to a path of happiness?

Here is my dare to you today:

Find an hour somewhere in this week, and book it in your calendar. Go to your room, a quiet spot in the garden, or secluded spot in the park - somewhere quiet where you can be by yourself. Leave your mobile phone and computer - or switch them off. Use pen and paper and spend a minimum of 20 minutes to consider the following:

1. What in my life makes me truly happy?

2. What do I miss doing?

3. How can I bring more creativity back into my life, even if only to please myself?

While writing your thoughts might drift to things you liked as a child, or a young adult. Explore the way that doing those things made you feel. Not every exploration has to be dramatic. It could be as simple as taking up reading again. Or going fly fishing with a close friend.

Make a commitment to yourself

If there is more than one activity, or you cannot decide which one, make a list and explore each one. The journey to find your activity in itself might lead you to where you need to go.

The number of activities is not important, nor is the amount of time that you spend doing it. The important part is that you need to be happy actually doing it.

On a personal note: I found my 'activity' when I realised that I could spend hours and hours doing something and not feel the time pass. It was the same for both my writing and drawing. At first, I painted too. Although I liked it, it was only once I did a very basic pencil drawing not intended as an outline for a painting, that I truly found my creative happiness. I also love reading.

So my list has three activities where I can lose myself with happiness. It is often difficult to decide where to spend my time, but I am working on that too. (part of my Live in Balance goals for 2017)

Be kind to yourself

Remember this is a journey, not a race. If it takes you days, weeks, or months to find that one thing where you can lose yourself for hours, don't worry about it. Note your journey and how each new activity makes you feel and grow.

Also, read Julia Cameron's book. There is a good reason why so many books about journal writing use hers as a reference.

I dare you!

Live in Balance: A to Z Challenge - C is for...

C is for Colour

We all need a little colour in our lives whether it be literally, or metaphorically. Today I am focusing on the literal meaning of the word. I am sometimes teased because my favourite colour is black. My engineering friends and colleagues (including Francois) constantly tell me that black is not a colour. Well, technically I suppose they are correct since black does not feature in any colour of light. Note: if you mix all the colours of the rainbow (in lightwaves) you get white, but no combination will ever give you black.

When mixing paints you do get black, but let's not argue that point.

Today I want you to explore your favourite colours in an art entry in your journal. I have done mine with the video clips you find below.

Before you watch (and dig in) a few pointers:

1. Wear an old t-shirt to protect your clothes. Most water-based paints will set permanently once dry and ruin your clothes. A lesson I learned once when I dropped a paintbrush covered in black paint on my favourite denim-blue tennis shoes. I went out and bought the eye-blindingly bright pink housecoat you see me wearing in the video clips (now I paint with those shoes!). It works, what more can I say.
2. You are most welcome to copy my designs for your journal or use your own. Keep it simple, something you can draw and paint in a matter of minutes.
3. If you want to use another medium or design that takes longer to be ready, allocate the space in your journal to glue it in later when it's ready.
4. Use the link here, to find your colour (or its closest match) and pen your thoughts about that. Remember to explore your emotions about the colour, as well as your experience of doing the art project for today's prompt.

Hints and tips:

• Put down a layer of plastic on your work surface to protect it from the paint. I used a plastic bag that I cut open. 
• Put newspaper on top of the plastic. It will absorb any excess moisture and prevent your artwork from unwanted bleeding across the paper.
• Try to use only the text part of the paper. Any pictures will create odd colours or shading of your design.
• Measure your journal's page size and cut the paper rectangles the same size or smaller. This way you know the end result will fit.
• Remove any jewellery from your hands. Paint sticks to everything and will dry quickly because of your body's heat. If your wedding ring has no gemstones, grooves or uneven surfaces like engravings, it may not be a problem, but the smallest crevice will be very hard to clean once the paint is dry.
• I put my hair in a ponytail because I have accidentally painted the ends a time or two and then the paint gets transferred to my face or glasses. But that's just me.
• Lastly, enjoy the art project!

Watch the short YouTube Videos!

Introduction

Drawing and painting a flower

Finishing the leaves

Preparing the design

Finishing the design in my journal

My favourite colours, what they mean, and my thoughts on that

Black

According to the website, it is a colour of mystery and secrecy. While I would like to think that I am mysterious and secretive, the closest I ever get to that are the mystery novels I love to read. Deep down I don't think I want to be mysterious.

Perhaps because I am an introvert who is happy to be on my own or left alone to do my own thing. Took me years to figure that part out. Only when I got to know other writers, did I begin to understand this part of myself. Interesting thing to discover in your early thirties, I can tell you.

But knowing this also allowed me to more easily accept this part of myself. Understanding it has been a journey, but I feel that understanding this part of me, helps me define my path to happiness.

Purple

This is the colour of creativity. My mother used to tell me that it is the only colour where you can wear any shades of it together without clashing with yourself. I am no fashionista and have no interest in dressing fashionably (if I do, it is pure luck), so I don't know if that is true. What I do know is that creativity is something I am still learning about every day.

After reading The Artist's Way, it opened even more doors in my mind. While I love my art projects, I have not experimented much simply because of my (mistaken) notion that painting (irrespective of the medium) was the only true expression of visual art, excluding sculpting.

Logically, I know that is not true, but until recently painting was all I did. I liked it, but it didn't grab me by the throat to drag me to the blank canvas. Only once I started experimenting with pastels and pencil do I feel as if I have truly found my art. I have a lot still to learn, but learning is easier for me if I have a passion for the subject.

It was the same for my engineering studies until I discovered electromagnetism in my third year. But that is something to explore at another time.

Jade

The closest colour to jade (or teal) on the website is turquoise. According to the website, it is the colour of balance because it sits right in the middle of the rainbow (mix of blue and green).

Sheesh, was I surprised when I read that the first time. There is no way I can convince myself that my choice of jade as a favourite, can have anything to do with my Live in Balance motto for this year. I have always loved this colour (it is also one of the few colours that both my mother and I liked equally), so the meaning cited on this website was pure coincidence, but not an unwelcome explanation!

When I think about my three favourite colours and their meanings, I am quite happy with the combination. Of course, there are negative connotations too, but I prefer to focus on the positive. I am striving for happiness after all!

👉 What have you learned today about your favourite colour(s)?

Live In Balance: A to Z Challenge - B is for...

B is for Books

Since I am not a trained therapist (of any kind) my perspective on journal writing comes purely from years of experience and a lot of reading on the subject. I read wider than only journal writing - one does need a wider perspective in my view. Writing a journal is a simple exercise of taking a pen and writing in a notebook.

The problem with keeping a journal is that people very often start but do not keep up with the practice because they want to achieve something, set a goal, get to it and then you are done. Journal writing is not about achieving some goal. It is a process and as such can be difficult to keep up, unless you find another reason for doing so.

For me, it is the pure pleasure of writing. Of having a means to work through an issue in my head. Our subconscious minds are powerful and often we don't let it do the work it can - helping us make decisions, or sort through an issue we are having difficulties to define to ourselves. Journal writing helps me with putting the issue out there, even if I don't understand it or don't have an answer yet.

To my mind keeping a journal is not something I do, it is something I am. Whether it is a prayer entry, a whining and moaning day, or just recording some events because I feel I have to, my journal is a part of who I am; a part of who I have become. Even if the changes I have seen in myself over the years have been subtle or dramatic, I wouldn't hesitate to attribute at least some of that to my journal.

If you have recently started to keep a journal but find it hard to keep up the practice, you need to find something in the practice that you like. Writing with a beautiful fountain pen? Time to yourself, if only a few minutes? The way you feel after you let go of the stuff in your life that keeps you down or lifts you up after realising that something good has happened. We live such busy lives and it is only when we sit down to take a breath to take stock that we can see what is lacking; to see what we need to find our own happiness.

That is one reason why writing a journal by hand allows you to slow down and spend the time with yourself.

Books and articles I like that may also help you find your journey to happiness through journal writing:

• You Love What You Invest Yourself In 
• “Mind Surgery”: My 10-Day Silent Meditation Retreat

• Persist. It Matters
• 50 Ways Happier, Healthier, And More Successful People Live On Their Own Terms
• The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
• Flow - the Psychology of the Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
• Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief by Jordan B. Peterson, Ph.D
• Creative Journal Writing by Stephanie Dowrick
• The Journal-Writer's Guide to Staying Started by Nathan Ohren

... and there are many, many more.

Read widely and explore with your journal, what these topics could do for your journey in life.