Live in Balance: A weird week

A weird week

The past week had been odd because every time I had to buy something I had to use my credit card. While that may not sound weird to most people, Francois and I have an agreement that only items we both need to pay for (e.g. groceries or things for our dogs) will be bought using our credit cards. It just makes it easier to figure out who is responsible for what expense. For my personal things or buying gifts for him, I would use my debit card.

But the bank made a screw up when they issued my new card - they linked it to his personal savings account. So yeah, I had to get that sorted first, which I could only manage yesterday. The next credit card statement is going to prove a challenge to sort out.

Staying on track

On my Live in Balance goals, the only thing I am really happy with this past month was my weight-loss. Nothing dramatic, but that is a good thing. Keeping my blood sugar levels stable while adjusting my diet is important. And clocking a consistent loss so far is something I am quite happy with.

April and its challenges

The blog challenge is proving to be a true challenge for me. To be honest I am a bit nervous about the response some of my posts might get, because it is more than a blog challenge; it is a journey. The daily entries are but drops falling into the river of life itself.

My journal writing has been on this journey for more than thirty years and yet some days I feel as if I am just starting out. But that is how it should be, otherwise, I would stagnating instead of growing as a human being, an artist, a writer.

Even with my goals for this year, my journal forms a significant part of the journey to Live in Balance. April is the month dedicated to my journal, yet it never functions as if it is a separate entity in my life.

The A-to-Z Challenge posts for the coming week will be as follows:

Monday: Letter B…for Books

Tuesday: Letter C…for Colour (simple art prompt)

Wednesday: Letter D…for Dare to Dream

Thursday: Letter E…for Explore

Friday: Letter F…for Forgiveness

Saturday: Letter G…for Gratitude (prompt)

See you then!

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

A is for Architecture

Architectural design is based on a few basic rules and a whole lot of creativity. The same could be said of journal writing, especially if you have never done it before.

Here is a basic guideline on how you can start your entry for the day:

Suggestion	Example
Note the date and time	1 April 2017, 7h13
Note the place where you find yourself	At home. Got my feet up in the living room because I am home alone today. F already left for a photo shoot in Jo'burg. Coffee brewing in the kitchen and making my mouth water.
Note your physical well-being	Knee is aching like a bitch. Tried to be careful in my work-out this week, but will need to carry on with the anti-inflammatory meds the doctor gave me on Monday. Although I am happy with...
Prompt for the day	……
Conclusion	Today I wrote about.../ that my experience…/I learned…/I have to…

There is no right way of doing this, but you can start with the suggestions above and work from there.

Drifting thoughts?

It is alright if you start off on one thought and then progress or jump to another. Don't think about it, just let the words come. Single words. Bullet points. Short or long sentences, it does not matter. What is important is that you let your thoughts come while you write.

Time?

Most authorities on journal writing recommend that you do so first thing in the morning, for about 20 to 30 minutes. Give your mind a chance to clear before you start the day.

There is no fast rule for early morning writing, as you might prefer to reflect late at night, or before you go to bed.

Tools of the trade

There are many beautiful and elegant notebooks available today that you can use, but that is not necessary. Any notebook, cheap or expensive, will do exactly the same job: record your thoughts when you write them down.

The same goes for the pen. Personally, I like using a fountain pen (I have several that I acquired over the years) but on some days I like to use a simple ballpoint pen. You can use whatever writing instrument feels comfortable in your hand.

Different colour pens can be used too. If you feel particularly happy, use a blue pen. Or when you're thinking about an issue, use a black pen.

Finding a particular entry again

When I write in my journal, I sometimes get an idea for a blog post, an art project, or a story. I write it down, but it can easily get lost in the words around it. So I came up with a simple system to mark specific entries that I might want to go back to. I use a fiber tipped pen to mark the pages on the edge. If the journal is closed you can spot the marks on the side of the pages and they are then easy to trace.

This is your journey

Whether you choose to follow a prompt to direct your thoughts, buy an expensive notebook or not, this is your journey. Start today and make the most of it. You will be surprised when you open yourself up to this new experience.

Live in Balance: Challenges Ahead

Despite all my efforts to not-write (Haha!) in April I will force myself to make up for that. Since I cannot resist a challenge, the next month will see me taking part in two writing based challenges – at the same time!

The A to Z Challenge will kick-off on Saturday with the letter A and in keeping with my theme, I will be using the letter A for Architecture. I can just hear you go, huh? What does that have to do with the Journal to Happiness theme?

Bookmark this page and have a look on Saturday. My posts go live at 1 am (GMT+2) my time.

Speaking of Saturday. I will be giving away 4 books and 4 ebooks to 8 lucky subscribers to my mailing list. Have you signed up yet? If you are worried about spam or constantly being bludgeoned by promotions, don’t be. I don’t promote my books unless there is new one (and it’s not coming as soon as I had hoped) and that only happens (if I am not procrastinating so much) once a year. So, your inbox is safe from me.

Now onto the second challenge I mentioned: Camp NaNoWriMo. The practice event for the main course in November. 

I am very excited to once again be working on a new book project. Although I will be using the blog posts of Journal Writing in the Pursuit of Happiness, the blog challenge will only be the start. After the incredible feedback I got on Negotiating the Maze (my book of the month coming in April), tackling another non-fiction book project seemed like a good idea. Non-fiction requires a different approach, and I found that I like that too. Never too old to learn, I think!

This coming week is going to be super busy for me, but may yours be filled with happiness and success! 😁

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?

Live in Balance: Time to just carry on

As I sat down in front of my computer to compose my blog post for this week, I realised that I have nothing to say. No wise words, no boring words, just nothing. So instead of waffling my way through 500 words or so to put something on my blog, I am putting my 6 graphs of progress up. And that's it.

Next week, along with everyone else, I will reveal my theme for the A-to-Z Blog Challenge.

There will also be three swag packs (South African residents only) to give away to subscribers to my mailing list. Details next week.

Until then, Live in Balance, my friends!