A Selfie Book a Hole in the Wall
“The unexamined life
is not worth living.”
There are
probably quite a lot of people who have their diaries stashed away somewhere
amongst their papers or bookshelves; and, most likely they will be partly finished,
like mine – evident signs of our good intentions – entries kept for anything
between ten months and ten days – all as unfinished as life is!
There is
something irresistible about a diary. I am not talking about appointment
diaries, engagement diaries, and our daily business ones, but about ‘a Selfie Book:’ i.e. the journals we
keep of our own innermost thoughts. The private books we write working through
our joys and sorrows, our struggles, and our hopes and dreams. These are the realest
books there are; the truest books of all; the person who we are indelibly formed
in words!
In diaries
such as these we are intelligently working through our own lives: we are ‘trying and testing the waters:’
experimenting with ideas, searching out what is in us. The more we do this, and
the deeper we go into our own psyche, the more we come to know our own selves;
which, strange to tell, is how we come to know anything…! “Then shall I know even as also I am known.”
There’s nothing like a diary to sort
ourselves out and find out who we are! Our
diaries are our ‘workings-out.’ They
are strictly private places of personal discovery; sheltered venues where we can
come to terms with our issues, while building up our own philosophy of life and
finding out who we are and what is our purpose in this world.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” (Con
Keogh.)
This is a key quote
I have carried about with me for years now; and I feel that I have thoroughly found
out its deepest truth; the greatest happiness I have found has been in me; in myself.
(And if you think about it where else could it be?) I guess this sounds hedonistic, but it is not:
for we are not pandering to ourselves in
our diary workings-out, rather we are un-afraid-ly examining the thoughts and intents
of our own hearts; even ruthlessly at times: we are valuing the truth in all things
and have no wish to deceive ourselves in anything.
The only concern with
journal writing for sensitive people is that we could become overly critical of
our selves. But if we keep wholeheartedly to the truth of us, we will learn to love
our selves, and enjoy ourselves through this daily exercise of diary keeping. Journal
writing is hugely healing; and the reward: “having
the rejoicing in ourselves alone, and not in another:”
We know
that our diaries are private and that we can’t share them with others. But, personally,
I find it delightful to keep my diaries on a bookshelf to surprise anyone should
they happen to pick one out! I have nothing
to hide; they already know I’m crazy! And nothing is by chance! Maybe one’s diaries
will fall into the right hands and help other people? I know for sure, that if our
diaries should survive our passing away into the next life, they become a treasure
to those left behind.
And I have
in my possession such a treasure!
I have my
Welsh great-grandfather, Daniel Thomas’s pencil written diary of his trip across
the Atlantic Ocean, from Liverpool, U.K., to New York, U.S.A., in 1909. This beautiful
little diary is over 106 years old! It begins:
“D. W. Thomas and James Edward his Tour to
America USA on the 22 day of October 1909.” Daniel’s old fashioned handwriting
is a bit hard to read; and his spelling is interesting! His descriptions are quite
startling! He talks of his brief visit to (our now unknown) relatives in Pennsylvania;
and life as it is happening . . . he speaks of his being present in the room where
his aunt suddenly dies minutes after he arrives at the door to
visit her . . . having coming all the way from Wales to see her!
This little
diary is also full of miscellaneous trivia, which to me are fascinating and interesting
details, such as the prices of food and things, and the brevity of his stay in America!
I must scan
this treasure, which is now an historical document to preserve it in digital form
for posterity; and to share it with the rest of my family.
We do not
know the extent of the influence of our lives!
It is good
to know that the written word will always out live us.
How wonderful to leave behind us, more of who we really were through the agency of our precious diaries no matter what they may contain! They are as . . . “a hole in the wall” through which one's lovely inside life can be seen. (Every person's inner life is lovely, because all of a person is accepted, and understood, forgiven, and loved unconditionally.) The insights to be gained from the written thoughts of a person’s inner self, no matter what they are, are always fascinating and always very valuable; they are helpful towards the personal growth and spiritual development of any reader. Marvellous rewards await the brave: those who are not afraid of sharing themselves for the benefit of others.
How wonderful to leave behind us, more of who we really were through the agency of our precious diaries no matter what they may contain! They are as . . . “a hole in the wall” through which one's lovely inside life can be seen. (Every person's inner life is lovely, because all of a person is accepted, and understood, forgiven, and loved unconditionally.) The insights to be gained from the written thoughts of a person’s inner self, no matter what they are, are always fascinating and always very valuable; they are helpful towards the personal growth and spiritual development of any reader. Marvellous rewards await the brave: those who are not afraid of sharing themselves for the benefit of others.
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