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The Public Journal

Recently I was thinking about journaling and how many people make a habit of doing it, but don't tend to think or make much of their journals. They are kept on shelves, tucked under beds, and locked in little chests only to be found post-humus.

Sometimes a journal of a famous politician or army general will be unearthed and used to illuminate life in the past, giving archaeologists clues as to how we once lived, or how important events unfolded in their eyes. But what about life right now?

Many of us may not think of a journal as a creative outlet, but isn't that really what it is? We recall our epic adventures here on earth (and embellish a little at times), struggle over what we think about this life we've made for ourselves and puzzle over how to solve our life's problems. This process, I feel, is just as creative as sitting down to draw a picture, compose a song, or write a poem.

Our journal topics range from the mundane to highly personal. In every event lies a story, a moral, a set of choices or opinions. All of these help us to move forward as individuals.

When we think about who our friends are and why, no matter what the details are, it always boils down to this: these are people with whom we share our experiences with, and to a certain extent, opinions.

By journaling publicly you are really extending your circle of friends, except that some you will never meet or never even know of each other anything other than a tick on a webstats counter.

I'm the first to admit that most of my ideas are nothing new, but for one reason or another, I seemed to think they bore repeating in my journal. Some ideas are juxtapositions of observations, and others are reminders. This, then, is a slightly less stylized creative outlet for me (compared to my other websites), the public journal of Aaron Deutsch.

Posted by Aaron R. Deutsch on May 17, 2006 09:25 PM