Faithful Nest

Etymology is fascinating. Looking back to the origins of words often reveals the fluid path of meaning in language. Today I filled a journal and looked for another to carry on my carrying on. Am I the only one with multiple journals?

In seeking a new vehicle of voice, I was reminded that I had a journal for travel, morning pages (IYKYK), and spiritual reflection. This is in addition to a couple of books wherein I deposit nuggets of sentences. Those will sometimes become a poem or written piece or morph into an image. Having recently completed a bike ride across Iowa, there was the most recent travel journal, journey journal if you will.

Journey and journal. Ok, you got me, the hook is there and the roots just too tempting to pass up. So off to https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=journey to begin research. Not only do I find it helpful for future definitions, but I find word roots intriguing. The etymology followed much as I suspected.

Journey comes to us ‘from Old French journée “a day’s length; day’s work or travel (12c.) from Vulgar Latin *diurnum “day,” noun use of neuter of Latin diurnus “of one day.” Likewise, journal comes from ” from Old French jornel, “a day; time; a day’s travel or work  (12c., Modern French journal), properly “that which takes place daily”.

Yes, yes. I aim to write of my day’s work or travel on a daily basis. But why do I keep different journals? This is the field of psychologists, surely. My own first thoughts are that I need to focus on one direction and distill the meaning of the moment. Should I want to relive or remember the lesson, I would go to that journal. It is also easier to prop a journal up with the associated photo album or souvenirs to remember my daily work/events in that place.

Perhaps I’m a bit of an introvert hoping to keep certain moments to myself. Trapping those in their own world reflects their origin and keeps them unsoiled by the world at large. Yet, I need to restore balance. I do not live in a vacuum. Left on their own my thoughts tend to develop unbalanced conditions.

Several folks commented on my ability to journal each night of the bike event. Like a friend who creates water color images wherever she is, my thoughts follow me and fairly demand to be written down. After a day filled with as many as 20,000 fellow participants, I needed to create a solitary experience to regain my balance.

Perhaps that is also a motivation, the opportunity to expound thoughts that are better left unsaid. As a child I was accused of speaking my thoughts unfiltered. I hope I am not the only person who has opened their mouth and inserted their foot. The journal gives me the opportunity to pause those thoughts and find the meaning. Why did someone do what they did? (No, it was not to upset me.) Does she/he believe what they are saying? (Maybe there is something in that point of view I need to consider.) How can I help? (Sometimes the answer is to just sit and listen.)

If you don’t journal, I highly recommend it. If you do, perhaps you are as avid as I and seek differing outlets. No matter. May your day’s work be interesting and your path in life be fulfilling.