With the pandemic came a lot of free time. Time to rest, catch up on neglected tasks, clear out the old and make way for the new. Ultimately, it gave us time to think. Maybe even too much time to think.
I don’t know about you, but I found myself questioning everything. My identity, my relationships, my life; and where exactly it was all going. I became consumed with strangers on social media, telling me what to do and how to spend my lockdown life. Was I doing enough? Amidst a global pandemic and I was questioning if I was/am doing enough… when physically, we couldn’t do anything.
Like many others, I became my own worst critic, ridiculing every single move I would make. When the reality was, I should have savored every moment of it. Despite the tragic nature of the pandemic, it may be the only time in our lives that we get to go on pause and take a breather as a collective. In no way am I trying to undermine the severity of it all. I myself, like many others, have had permanent and life-altering impacts from COVID-19.
However, sometimes, I do miss the slow-paced nature of it all. The time for self-growth and development has been one of the best experiences of my life. I have changed, grown into myself. I almost do not recognise the person I was pre-pandemic. All of this came down to the time I was able to dedicate and reflect to journaling. I decided to dig deep and go through all of the emotions, events and experiences, I have spent so long suppressing or have simply been too busy to address. Almost instantly I noticed journaling benefits.
So, I would write every day, even when I didn’t have that much to say. I found the more I wrote the lighter I would feel. The words would pour out, and some occasional tears, but eventually the burden became lighter and my perspective on everything simply became clearer.
Sometimes we are so busy living that we forget to check in with ourselves. And now the world is easing back to normality I still make time to write. It isn’t as frequent and maybe no so in-depth, but I feel the difference.
Journaling benefits those who are willing to let go in order to move on. It has allowed me to communicate with those that I love a lot more easily than before. My connections have become stronger because I feel more content and in tune with myself and who I truly am. How did we ever think we could make others understand our needs when we ourselves have been ignoring them for so long.
I will never be perfect at this. I will always slip in and out of healthy habits, forgetting to stay in tune with myself. It happens to the best of us, especially when life gets in the way. I encourage you to embark on a little soul searching. It doesn’t have to be as extreme as my lockdown writing retreat. It can be a few minutes every day, or once a week, simply just to check in on you, your body and your mind. Take a second to stop and really listen to what you need. Build that relationship with yourself, in order to experience life and all of its wonders to the fullest.
At Bags of Love, you can create your very own personalised journal. Add your own photos and text to encourage yourself to take a break and get to the root of you. The perfect gift for you, or a loved one, who may be feeling a little lost in this post lockdown world. Spread the journaling benefits, the personalised way.
