A bit late to New Years

Seems a bit late for a New Years post… and I wasn’t sure what to use as my New Year’s writing prompt.

So let’s start off with one of my favorite Japanese quotes:

塵も積もれば山となる

Chiri mo tsumoreba yama to naru

“Dust amassed can make a mountain.”

meaning an accumulation of small things can become great.

Small actions and commitments over time can have a compounding effect.

It’s become an annual tradition of mine to go through my old journals at the start of a new year, to relearn the lessons of the past, to curate my experiences and memories so that they better serve the person I am today. Something I’m able to do because of the time I’ve invested into journaling. I’m able to look back on the people, places, events, and objects that have had a profound impact on my existence and thank them as a result of having committed to the act of journaling.

If you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution or a good New Year’s goal, I cannot recommend adding journaling to your list of routine activities. I don’t journal every day, nor do I journal on a specific day of the week every week. I’ve found that I enjoy the process more when I’m able to journal when the moment or mood strikes me, when something feels impactful or moving. I encourage you to find what works for you and stick with the function of it while allowing the form to change. Maybe you haven’t found the right notebook or the right pen, maybe you haven’t found the style of journaling you enjoy, maybe you haven’t figured out what to leave out and what to put in. Allow yourself to experiment with the process, and make it something uniquely yours.

The first iteration of anything isn’t great (much like this post) but with time, and more iterations, even dust amassed can make a mountain.