Meetlife Journals

I am someone who has a problem sitting still. I am constantly looking for ways to be 'productive.' And when I am not doing anything productive, I doom-scroll for as long as my eyes allow.

That's when journaling comes to my rescue — and no, not the typing-on-the-phone kind of journaling. The whole pen-and-paper-in-silence kind of journaling.

Since childhood, I have been obsessed with buying and collecting thick notebooks and smooth pens. Something happens inside me at the sight of notebooks. Like I was born to buy and use them.

(Spoiler: making journals with customised covers is my business now).

I didn't know what to use those notebooks for until I learned journaling. And once I learned about journaling, I didn't look back. In fact, I was scribbling since childhood only, I just didn't know it was called journaling.

And the very thing I was teased for as a child became my quiet therapist.

I think the passions we term 'hobby' are God's way of giving us a technique to meditate.

The painter meditates on the canvas,

the runner meditates on the track,

the puzzle-solver meditates on the blocks.

I, the lover of pens and notebooks, meditate through journaling.

For me, meditation means being still — still enough to focus on my breath and thoughts.

With a million tabs open in my brain at all times and a mind that refuses to sit still and rest, I found the act of journaling forces me to sit in one place.

Some people journal on screen, which I do too and it's fine. But you can type while walking. You cannot write in a notebook if you are on the move. Writing needs stability. The more stable and comfortable you are, the better the writing experience.

I also believe that journaling forces us to focus on one thought at a time. It brings out the most prominent thought on paper and then helps us to make sense of it.

We can also do some deep breathing exercises before we hit our pen to the beautifully blank paper waiting for us to be vulnerable on its surface.

Writing slows me down, I believe. I rush a lot. I don't even know why. Everyone eats their food slowly in our home but me? I eat like I have to be somewhere, like I have millions of pending tasks. Sometimes, I even rush while writing and journaling and then I remind myself how slowing down is the whole point.

I lose myself on the pages when my ink finds its flow... almost like entering a trance. Like I'm entering right now as I handwrite this blog post.

I think better on the pages.

I articulate better on the pages.

I get less distracted on the pages.

I hold myself together on the pages.

I love writing. I love entering the trance, watching my ink form beautiful letters on a crisp white page. I love writing like this love has followed me since many lifetimes.

When I'm at my lowest, I write. When I'm at my highest — I write. A journal and pen were my only friends in childhood. And now that I have human friends too, I am glad I didn't give up on these two — pen & notebook.

Journaling gave me so much in life. It helped me discover myself, heal my inner child, cope with traumatic events & PTSD episodes, to soothe my anxiety, to forget loneliness for a while, and the list goes on.

I share prompts & resources as PDFs & ebooks on Gumroad and Payhip. Link: http://store.shilpagoel.com

I also make journals with customised covers. To order, visit: http://meetlifejournals.smartbiz.in