While I was browsing at Black Bond Books (yay for  independent book stores!), I discovered this great journal that should do away with the I-can’t-possibly-write-anything-and wreck-my-new-journal feeling that I get whenever I’m about to start a new one.

Like last year, I actually wrote in my beautiful, brand-new, Asian-inspired cherry blossom journal:

This is such a beautiful book, I want to be careful how I write—no scribbling out, or scrawling, or squeezing in a forgotten word or 20.

Of course, as I look back, it’s exactly the scribbling out and scrawling and squeezing-in-something-more that I value. Those things don’t wreck my journal—they make it what it is.

That’s why I was glad to discover Keri Smith‘s Wreck This Journal—because journaling isn’t about preserving the beauty of a page, but “wrecking” it with our thoughts, doodles, prayers, praise, rants, complaints, laments, thanksgiving, and anything else. I’m not sure I’ll really “Tape this journal closed. Mail it to yourself.” or “Find a way to wear the journal.” But I like her sense of humour, creativity, and encouragement to “scribble wildly, violently, with reckless abandon.”

Journaling is one of my most consistent spiritual practices, something I’ve done for years, even before I knew what a spiritual practice was. I often journal on computer now, but I still prefer the slower and more old-fashioned way, writing by hand, pausing often to re-read, ponder, and pray. Wreck This Journal gives me a new way to experiment. I’m looking forward to starting it soon!

Writing/Reflection Prompt: So journaling—love it or hate it? Does it help you cope with life and grow, or does it feel like a burden and drag you down?

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