Journaling, Or Not

I know a lot of people who Journal. Some may call it their “diary of hidden thoughts”, but when we let the journal loose on the world, then it’s a “tell-all” biography of every thought they’ve had. Good. Bad. Downright ugly.

Then. Suppose those journals survive your passing and are left as “property” to your heirs, and the world at large. Everything said is now open to private interpretation, and you are not here to defend yourself, or to have a conversation about the contents.

Some have told me they use their journaling routine to analyze and document their struggles, but once past, they are often burned to ashes in the safest way possible. Others have their journals locked away to keep prying hands and eyes at bay. That works for today, but what about tomorrow?

What Is Journaling?

According to one website’s view of this journaling habit:

Journaling is defined as to keep a daily record, as of occurrences, experiences, or observations. To write self-examining or reflective journal entries, detailing your private thoughts and feelings. [Source]

Some keywords pop out – daily record; self-examining; detailing; private thoughts; feelings.

That’s a powerful statement of purpose, but what happens when those thoughts become public? Do you want your entire personal view to becoming fodder for the masses?

I attempt to write every day, but it’s a public expression found in my blog. My mind is full of thoughts, and I spend much time outlining my position in public. As I write, I cement my position and often find that I need to tone down my private voice for public consumption. You will never know my deepest thoughts and how I process them. At least, not in a written form!

If what I think is important enough to write about, then what I want to say is open to public comment. In today’s world of TMI (Too Much Information), I vote for the privacy of my thoughts to never darken the page of a book!

Through The Years

I recently dug out my high school yearbooks and scanned the words and sentiments written by fellow classmates on the pages where their pictures are found. If people truly feel what they wrote, then I have some marvelous friends of the past or some creepy personalities that are probably incarcerated somewhere! It makes me stop to think, “What did I write in their yearbook?” Did something leak out that I hope would remain silent?

Since I struggle with tossing away anything, there’s a stack of letters in my office from the years ago writing habit of pen and paper. Maybe it’s time to review them!

I’ve written notes to myself through the years on completing projects (dates, to-do’s, goals, etc.) and maybe it’s time to clean the barn! Match, anyone?

Think about all your performance evaluations from all your previous years of employment. Those words, though somewhat private, are documented into those “forever” files that never seem to go away.

Electronic Messages

My computer files have documentation from emails and snippets of conversations that keep me remembering the past. From these memories, I can easily dredge up the negatives, harbor frustrations and angsts against certain folks. These files document the good times, and the not-so-good times.

Today, 10/29/19 represents 50 years since the first computer message was sent between two mainframes on the system that was the precursor to the modern-day internet. They were supposed to send the word “Login”, but a system crashed after the first two letters – “L O”, to which one of those involved said this made them think of “Hello”!

Since the beginning of electronic messaging, we have been bombarded by too much stuff. “SETEC ASTRONOMY” is code from a favorite storyline, and if you know what it is, then let me know. It seems the paparazzi is alive and well on the Internet! Everything you think is your private domain, but when you record it then it is subject to hacking, spoofing, spamming, and blackmail.

What Do We Do?

Quit journaling? Perhaps. It’s possible there’s only heartache at the end of that path! The suddenness with which life changes, can leave everyone gasping when your journal becomes public.

Perhaps we should write in code? There’s seldom any code that is unbreakable. Maybe you are not important enough to get a Supercomputer to crack the code, but when you leave this writing behind it will eventually fall into the public’s hands.

Maybe the better path is simply using the habit of journaling to document our journey through life. Even for documenting a project, or for research purposes. Then, keep your mind viewing the words for scandal, or for some secret leaking out. Surely, you would never want to hurt someone after you’re gone!

I’ve promised those close to me if I find your journal after you’re gone, then, with a quick snap of the fingers, I will light a match. Your secrets are safe from everyone. I promise.