Goal #121: Keep a Journal

I cannot even begin to tell you how glad I am that I’ve kept a journal for most of my life. The fact is, we forget things and the older you get the more you forget. I cannot even count the number of times I’ve settled an argument by going to my journal to verify something we disagreed on. Cha-ching!  If nothing else, it’s been a good money maker for me with the number of bets I’ve won.

I started keeping a journal when I was 18. That first one was a bit sporadic. But when I started a new life in the Philippines, I kept a daily journal. Since that time, with one small exception I’ve kept a daily journal for 35+ years.

A friend of mine who works in a archive refers to journal writers as The Rememberers. These are the people who help humanity remember our past by writing down not only the events and details of national and world events, but also the hopes, the fears, the despair, and the dreams of humanity. Each person who records his or her feelings, regardless of how they do it or how often they do it, contribute a piece to the massive puzzle of humanity.

Mystics called these collective memories of humanity the Akashic Records. Rupert Sheldrake refers to these thoughts, feelings and memories as the Morphic Fabric. Christians often consider these journals as part of the Book of Life. I just call them my journals.

Years from now, long after I have passed away and my body has turned to dust, my posterity will know who their great great great grandfather was, for better or worse. They will know my fears, my dreams and what I tried to contribute to the betterment of humanity. Someone once told me that you cannot love someone you do not know. What better reason to keep a journal than the thought of being loved and cared for by one’s posterity.