“Journaling helps you grow and flow. It helps you get in touch with who you really are…your essence. It helps put you in touch with the Dreamer in you. It nourishes your Dreamer. Journaling provides clarity, discovery, and authentic expression”. ~ Susan Castle

Did you ever own a diary at any stage during your life?

You know what I mean, the type of diary in the form of a book, with blank pages. You needed a pen to write in it. Some even came complete with their own little padlock and key, enabling the owner of such a diary to record their deepest, most private thoughts and feelings, without fearing that their inner-self may be intruded upon.

Young girls, in particular, found great delight in beginning each new entry into their diaries with the words “Dear Diary”, just as one would begin a letter to a dear and close friend.

But that is exactly what a personal diary became to those who owned one; a confidant, in whom they could trust their inner most secrets to.

Where is Dear Diary Today?….

You may well ask!

I have a sneaking suspicion that “Dear Diary” is alive and well, after undergoing a gradual “facelift” during the last ten to fifteen years.

As the years have progressed, the times have changed to such an extent that Generation X and even more so Generation Y no longer feel the immense need to keep their inner-most thoughts private.

Modern technology has given them “Facebook”, the perfect medium in which to  record their deepest secrets if they so wish. Photos and music can also be contained within these pages, to be treasured for posterity.

A padlock and key seems unnecessary as you can easily monitor the friends you wish to have read your private thoughts.

Yes, times have certainly changed. Gone are the days when we all wished to keep our privacy. Our diaries may now be publicly viewed within the pages of Facebook.

Is There an Alternative to Facebook?

Yes, I believe there is!

And, you are reading my very own alternative to Dear Diary and Facebook, right here and now!

You see, I love to write and my words are from the heart. I’m past the age of wishing to record any risqué thoughts, preferring uplifting messages of inspiration, encouragement and advancement of thought.

So, I blog! 🙂

“The diary is the only form of writing that encourages total freedom of expression. Because of its very private nature, it has remained immune to any formal rules of content, structure, or style. As a result, the diary can come closest to reproducing how consciousness evolves”. ~ Tristine Rainer

There are many occasions when writing helps to put my thoughts into perspective. My mind may be going through a state of muddlement on a particular subject, so I begin to write.

As the words take form, my thoughts clear, the answers to my questions take form in my mind, I record the answers and voila! My mind is all sorted!

There once was a day, way back when…

…I owned my very own diary, as previously described, complete with cute little padlock and key. Dear Diary had become my confidant during the years I was aged thirteen and fourteen.

During a very boring lesson of Asian Social Studies at school one day, as I struggled to stay awake and pay attention to the teacher, (trying to improve my grades in this subject as they were not good, due no doubt to the afore mentioned boredom), I was distracted by a mini commotion in the seats behind me.

Two of my friends had discovered an amusing distraction from the drone of the teacher’s voice, there was no doubt about that! What was that little blue “thing” they both poked and giggled at, hidden mostly behind the desk, within the security of their laps?

I’d recognise that shade of blue anywhere….My Diary!

In a fit of rage, I snatched my valued possession from their hands, whilst the teacher, who was obviously sleep-talking, as he hadn’t noticed the commotion taking place right under his nose, continued to drone on.

The minutes that remained in that lesson of Asian Social Studies were the longest minutes of my fourteen year old life. As the bell rang, sounding the end of the lesson, my diary and I made a very speedy exit from the classroom.

I was mortified!

Needless to say, the two offenders, known formally as my “friends”, had taught me a very valuable lesson ~ that to some people nothing is sacred, therefore, tear up my diary and keep those overly private thoughts to myself!

“Writing is the most powerful way I know of to sort through all the inner voices”. ~ Rebecca Maddox

As quaint and lovely the idea of hand writing in diaries is, I am content today, as the much older and wiser soul I now am, to sort systematically through those “inner voices”, recording my thoughts in my blog and hoping someone out there may benefit from my words, not to mention my bad experience! 😉