Putting words to our lives

I have been journaling for 42 years. (‼️) ⁣
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I have to pause and let that sink in as I type it. How have 42 years (and more) gone by? ⁣
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I’m grateful I have shelves of journals and notebooks filled with my words to help me track the years and all the lives I’ve led in those years. And I’m even more grateful for the things I learned about myself 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 writing for all these years. ⁣
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I mean, realizing I had a crush on David Hasselhoff was *big* self-discovery in at age 9. And recording that I’d only played 5 jokes on April Fool’s Day was clearly an implicit intention for myself to do better and play more the following year. ⁣
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In the writing workshops and retreats I lead, my major premise is this: it’s not about the product when we write as much as it is about the process. What we write matters, of course, but what we learn about ourselves while writing matters more. ⁣
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So, here’s to Knight Rider and childhood club houses. Here’s to journaling and putting words to our lives. And here’s to what we learn as we do. ⁣
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