Books by the old Leather Chair

  • Snow In The Summer
  • My Bible
  • The Power of Silence
  • What Comes Next and to Like It
  • Encore Provence
  • A Year in Provence

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Journals From The Past

While growing up I would occasionally write in a diary. My 6 year old granddaughter now writes in the diary I gave her for Christmas. She forbids anyone to look at it. Locks it and probably hides her little key. The time with a mate and children in the home there was no time or period of stillness to write. But it came to pass that in time there are quiet times and I could start keeping journals. I wrote continually at a time when my marriage was ending. These journals were destroyed a number of years ago. It was healing for this One Woman to write but I could not chance a child or grandchild reading these deeply sad thoughts. I did not sense they would be an asset to anyone in my close family. This rainy evening I filled my arms with old journals going back 25 years. Most of the time I have been smiling as I read the entries. Must share with my youngest daughter the entry about her first date with the local dentists son.
Wondering about something? So many of the entries are the same I write today.Seeking - health, wisdom, peace, guidance, love, forgiveness, understanding and the ability to accept the things I do not understand. My journals are filled with quotes from the book of Psalms. I found an underlined scripture from years past that said "We are granted 70 years and every year after that is a gift from God" guess I am in the gift years and now more then ever I need to use them wisely.
Now I am writing my journals online. I must be brave to put my thoughts out there for the world to read. At times amazed that anyone would find them interesting.
But it seems some individuals relate to what I share.
So I continue to smile and it is so apparent that I have always been protected and guided every step of the way. When I look back I realize with a thankful heart that as I go forward into the year 2009 I go with the expectation that once again all this One Woman needs will be supplied.

God cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature, trees, flowers and the grass grow in silence. See the stars, moon and sun and how they move in silence.
Mother Tereasa

Thoughts from One Woman on her Journey Through This Life

8 comments:

Marcie said...

Ernestine,

Oh, I love that quote by Mother Theresa about silence. That has so much meaning for me.

I have very little in the way of written journals to look back on, though I wrote them on and off throughout my life. Like you, I destroyed them if there was anything painful written within. Nevertheless, it was cathartic and healing to write, even if the journals were not saved.

I enjoyed your post today, as always. I'm so glad this journal of your "journey to mindfulness" is available here online. I just think of this community of blogs as a neighborhood. Here we are, sitting on the porch sharing our thoughts and stories. It's very different than the old fashioned version of visiting, but maybe we are more likely to find truly kindred spirits through this modern way.

hugs,
Aisling

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Aisling, thank you so much. With being new to online writing your sharing is a blessing to me.
Have a great day.

Judy said...

I think it is easier to share our thoughts and ideals online than in person. It was always easier for me to write than to speak about such things. I did not realize there are so many like us out there that feel the same way! SMILE is a good word for 2009. I will try and smile more, too, and give more hugs. I love the Mother Theresa quote also.

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Judy, thank you. Your thoughts are mine.

Liza on Maui said...

Oh I love you new header - that's YOU!

I love this post too. I am so into journaling. On New Years Eve I read many of my previous entries and smiled :)

I am encouraging my daughter to journal too.

And I love the quote you posted. One of these days I will borrow that and post it on my blog :)

Aloha,
Liza

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Liza thank you for checking in.

L. said...

What a wonderful post today....interestingly, I could so relate to many parts of what you said...especially when your marriage was ending and you wrote your deepest thoughts...only to have destroyed them at a later time. I did the very same thing during my separation, and eventual divorce. I found it very freeing to get those thoughts down and then let them go...
We humans are so linked by our experiences on this journey...nice to know that we are not alone.
Take care...xoxo

Clara....in TN said...

Hi Ernestine, Nice to meet you. thanks for the comment on my blog. Where in TN do you live? I live as far NE as you can go. Bristol, TN, VA is a twin city. I live just outside of Bristol, TN. I loved your post "Journals From The Past." I have a diary that I wrote in every day of my high school years. That was 1951-1955. We have moved several times and I always make sure my diary does not get lost. Now, we have been in this house 23 years and my diary has always been in the same spot. Distroying family diaries closes windows to the past. Some day, my great and great grandchildren might treasure this diary. I surely would like to have one that belonged to even my grandmother. There is a story I can tell you about my diary. We hadn't been married very long, and I couldn't find it. I looked for about six months, and then one day, it appeared in the spot where I had always kept it. I KNOW my husband read it, but it wouldn't say he did. There wasn't anything in there that I didn't want him to see, but the fact that he would "steal it and read it". I couldn't have done it! But, I forgave him....I guess that's the reason we have been married almost 53 years. I still keep a journal. That's the last thing I do every night before I go to bed. A lot of times I go back to it to see when I got my last hair cut or when I had my surgery. At my age, I need all the help I can get...LOL