There’s something about that blank pristine whiteness of the page for 1st January. There’s a thrill in the promise of a new diary. It’s like seeing an expanse of white snow and longing to the be the first person to make a track of footprints across it.

That’s if you keep a paper diary, of course. Many people manage their appointments and schedules on their phone. We have a paper family diary at home, but I know some families work an electronic system which melds all their schedules together. It seems like too much magic for me. The feeling of an electronic diary is not the same as a paper one; there is no thrill of a new start with a new book and a blank page. And there’s none of that wonderful smell of a new diary; the fresh paper and faint whiff of the plastic or glue that’s used to bind it.

Perhaps you keep a paper diary, one for jottings about your day, or thoughts that occur to you, or the ramblings of your mind just before you sleep. My mother keeps a diary of all the things that have happened during her day and her thoughts about them. She has made us all promise that, when she dies, we will destroy them unread.

Some years ago, I was given a diary with a specific purpose: to jot down all the things for which I was grateful at the end of each day. The person who gave it to me is a personal development coach and she said that thinking about things you are grateful for at the end of the day promotes a much better night’s sleep than thinking about all the worries we inevitably have. I don’t know if she’s right about the sleep, but I do know that keeping such a diary has been immensely beneficial.

I must admit that my own gratitude diary is sporadic. I love the idea of keeping one, though, and the white space on January 1st – and all the pages beyond – inspire me to fill the book with positive things.

There’s always something to be grateful for – even if it’s only the fact that you’ve got through the day still breathing and (hopefully) without murdering anyone. Even in times of great grief, there are little things to be grateful for. I must say, however, that since I begun keeping my gratitude journal, I have not experienced great loss or grief, so I might just be talking nonsense.

The other thing about that white space is that I want to reach for my fountain pen and fill that space with my best handwriting, to create something beautiful. There are people who take this to the next level, creating elaborate journals with tags and decorated pages. I’ve never quite got that far.

Do you keep a diary or a journal? Is it paper or have you moved entirely to the electronic form? And what might you be grateful for today?

Mary

A Moodscope member