A journaling exercise
When cleaning a deep, dark and very dusty closet recently, I found a little blue notebook that I wrote in when my friend Rebecca Vlasic and I conducted journaling workshops at a women’s shelter in Pontiac, sometime around 2000. In the workshop, we discussed the value of keeping a personal journal of goals, aspirations, accomplishments, likes and dislikes, and good memories. We wrote along with the women.
I found one titled “Beliefs.” For this exercise, we asked the women to make a list of simple things they believe in–anything from profound to mundane. Amazingly, these random tidbits have held true for me:
- Take care of your body as much as your mind
- Get enough sleep
- Respect differences of opinion
- Love and respect your parents
- Hugs matter
- When in doubt, send a card
- Laughter is good medicine
- Skepticism is a virtue
- Never take yourself too seriously
- Realize you are not the only one who matters
- People are mean for reasons you may never understand
- Pets are good for you
- Love does not conquer all
- Money does not make the world go around
When I was a kid, I told my mother that love made the world go ’round. I probably heard it in a song. My mother held many contradictions, and she must have been in a cynical mood that day because she told me me, No, money makes the world go round. I didn’t believer her.
Beliefs #2
Because Rebecca and I presented the journaling workshop twice a month, we usually saw a different group of women each time. I had a second entry also titled Beliefs. This one is a little different:
- Wash your hands
- Wipe your feet
- Exercise and eat right
- Say you’re sorry
- Try to understand another person’s point of view even if you disagree
- Make someone happy each day
- Smile
- Be a courteous driver
- Don’t go where you aren’t wanted
- Forgive
- Find a way to make it work
- Don’t look back (I believe it but it doesn’t mean I do it) <– written on original list
- Offer anyone who comes into your home coffee, tea or water
- Share your gum and mints
I find this second list both funny and poignant. As in the earlier list, a few points overlap, such as respecting someone else’s opinions even if you disagree, staying positive, and taking care of your mind and body.
In both lists, I hear my mother’s voice. She’s the one who always mailed cards on any and every occasion. She believed in healthy eating and exercise. I still offer repairmen who come to the house at least a glass of cold water. And yes, share your stuff.
What about you?
Grab a piece of paper and without thinking too deeply, jot down 14 simple beliefs that help you in your daily life.
Then see what you think when you read it twenty years later.
Thank you for visiting.
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist:
Multi-finalist award winning novel In the Context of Love
Picture book Gordy and the Ghost Crab
Latest poetry chapbook: Sleepwalker
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