Morning Pages and Old Journals

I’ve recently started a “Morning Pages” habit, where I spend time each morning writing in a stream-of-consciousness journal. It’s supposed to help identify what is going on in our minds and what is perhaps causing us stress or roadblocks. I think it is pretty effective too! Usually by the end (I write 3 pages in a small A5-sized journal right now) I’ve gotten to write out what is bugging me and taking up space in my head.

A bonus for me is that I get to use my fountain pens and fill up blank notebooks that I have laying around. I also enjoy writing and not worrying about editing or misspelling or crossing things out and making a mess. People often will go back and read their morning pages after a while, but I think I am just going to throw out notebooks as I finish them. I think there’s some beauty in that “impermanence” and messiness.

And related to that is today’s photo of a couple of journals that I wrote when I was in high school and college. I actually took a look at a few of the pages, and while they were interesting (and cringey), I put them in the garbage. The past is the past and it feels good to start looking more toward the future. And also with the Morning Pages, the present.