2 Sentence Journaling?

Why another journal and a totally different type of journal keeping, you say? Well, I’ve started so many journals before that I’ve never finished. During the day, there are lots of short times during the day that I could use to journal if I would just write two sentences. That journaling is not complicated and a very manageable task. I find it is like jotting down the small pieces of your life puzzle and later, at the end of the week when you reflect on the daily two sentences, you can discern the big picture, the meaning of it.

How do I do it? I use 3×5 lined file cards and a storage box. Then, I:
• Use one card per day; putting the date on the card at the upper left,
• I journal each day; sometime during the day when I have a quiet space. (We’ll talk about the Journaling Process) in the next paragraph.)
• I put the cards in the storage box which then becomes my Journal.

Let me tell you more about my actual journaling process; I:
• Date the card, say a short prayer and open my sense channels,
• Try to notice the input signals being beamed into my soul; the sounds, images, smells, touches, messages, etc.,
• “Listen” for the gaps, the quiet spaces in between the signals, like the quiet wavelengths between radio and TV broadcast stations. I realize that I have the freedom to make a choice of not listening to the signals which have become my own “spiritual noise.”
• Focus on those spaces, tuning out the signals and allow my mind to slow down and concentrate on the one task at hand. I try to eliminate those thoughts of multi-tasking,
• Take a long deep breath, in and out,
• Reflect on my day so far (I usually do this during the evening so I have the whole day to review.) and write one sentence about it. I write only one sentence, using semicolons if needed or comma separated words/phrases.
• Reflect on other people in my relationships that need God’s care and I write only one sentence of a wish or prayer for those people.

At the end of the week, I take out the cards, read each one, and choose a title or topic name for my writing – I put that at the upper right. Then I create “category” section in my file box and file the appropriate cards in that section.

This Journaling Process takes maybe three minutes each day; I know I can find, or make, that much quiet time each day. Can you too?

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