I have kept a variety of diaires and journals for decades now--I keep both a digital and a physical version right now. I can spend hours creating complex collages for my physical version--my entires have morphed from written musings to visual representations of my life, emotional state, landscape of lusts and desires--I pick up ephemera from the streets, keep movie and concert stubs as well--any stuff I think is interesting, plus I spend ages cutting things out of magazines and the like. I have always been fascinated with the record-keeping of other lives and have a great collection of diairies of others--Frida Kahlo, Warhol, Eno, Peter Beard (my all-time fave and inspiration), plus Pepys etc. I find the record of any life really interesting-the disicipline, the insignificance and yet...So I think this project is a fabulous idea, so much so that I think I might contribute one of mine.
A few years back I tried to launch a little diary project called Pilgrim Journal Project. The idea was to pass journals around the globe, and have various people contribute to them--the emphasis was going to be on life and spirituality--they would eventually find their way back to me as a kind of anecdotal look at how people were engaging with life/religion etc. But I didn't get much response, I probably don't have a big enough presence to genrate enough interest to be honest--I still think it is a good idea though and who knows...one day.
In the meantime, I shall maintain my own ritual of daily offerings, I find that it helps me process ideas, feelings, and get a sense of where my thinking is heading.
That's a cool idea, Barry. Funny that such a simple idea - reflecting on one's life by writing - seems uninteresting or too arduous so that a project like this seems implausible. I wonder if you could achieve it on a micro level, just in your community. I think I might steal this as an idea for Lent among my own community. Thanks for your thoughts. - jmw
Posted by: jmw | 03 January 2013 at 06:39 AM