Thank you, Tina. I have been overwhelmed and dazed as of late. Stunned by grief after my Mother's death, I have barely written in my Journal. Now that I am tasked with having to look at my life and myself to cultivate a new sense of purpose and identity (I am no longer someone's devoted, caregiving daughter, anymore) after nearly a decade of my life not really being my own, I think of you as I contemplate moving abroad, possibly teaching English or enroll in University myself, potentially meeting my own "Luke," etc. The possibilities seem simultaneously bountiful and non-existent, in a way. Who I am is certainly written of abundantly within the pages of nearly FIFTY filled Journals. Though, I am not yet dead myself, I am daunted by the thought of eventually transporting my now very heavy load with me wherever I may go. You were fortunate to have loving family willing to hold onto your Journals for safekeeping for so long. My family is terribly fractured. With both parents and two siblings all having died, I am left with two living siblings that generate endless hurts and painful traumas. I am still a young woman. We are about the same age, Tina. I am so alone right now. So uncertain...of absolutely everything.
Oh friend. I feel the weight in your words and I so wish that we could grab a cup of tea together, cry and share soul stories. Have you heard of 'dark night of the soul'? I think this is something that might be worth doing a bit of research into. In my darkest times, I turned to this concept (paired with a spiritually minded therapist) and was able to find some spiritual and emotional strength. I know that you feel alone right now - and I wish that I could change that for you
I am totally new to journaling....I was going through a frustrating time when I remember a former co-worker telling me how she journaled and how it helped her so I started searching for youtube videos and yours was the MOST helpful and so very positive and encouraging!! I am so glad you are back and doing vids again and glad you are feeling better. I even got a fountain pen to journal with to keep the ink flowing and keep the inspiration alive.
I really love your voice, your way of speaking and your videos are the reason I started Journaling...I mean I was always interested but I never started. I have kind of stopped Journaling, but you are rekindling my interest ❤️ And your excitement is infectious, I was grinning the whole time I watched this video.
another stressful thursday where I got to calm my heartbeat and mind while watching a video of yours :) glad that you and Luke are doing well! to each their own, but I LOVE looking back at my journals. One of the big reasons I journal is for memory keeping so I suppose that make sense, but my journals are all so special to me for being my friend and companion throughout my life :) it's so interesting how we can do the same thing and yet do it completely differently!
One journaling book that I loved was Note to Self: On Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Samara O’Shea. I read it in my twenties (at the perfect time) and I still think about it.
loved the video! and I think journaling in a airport is a great place! I really like to journal at a park, or like in a quiet place like a library or something.
Thank you so much for always inspiring me to journal. Your videos are a huge motivational push. I have been a loyal subscriber to you since 2019 and its been great!
Loved this Q&A! Thanks for answering my question. 😊I started journaling only a year ago and it was through an app. Towards the end of the year, I really started to get tired of typing my entries. It wasn’t fun and it felt more like a chore. This year, I bought my first fountain pen and started writing in an actual journal. I’m totally loving the experience! I definitely prefer analog over digital.👍🏻
I loved this video!! I can’t wait for the favorite journal video!! 💚 Also I wanted to mention, even though the question was hypothetical, I don’t think your family would be burdened by your journals (even if there is high maintenance upkeep for them). You’ve written all your past selves into those pages, your whole life and being, your energy and creative fire, will be preserved in the journals. What a special thing to leave behind when it’s time. Your family will be so appreciative to still have you in book form, especially once you’re gone. And just think, the little ones long down the line in your family tree will get to meet you through the pages of your journal since they can’t in real life. It’s so special you journaled so much and continue to do so. I wish I had a warehouse full of the journals of my ancestors! 💚
Yes!!! I am a GIANT L.M. Montgomery fan (although I prefer her Emily series--highly recommend them if you're not acquainted)! I love that you mentioned her journals right away as that's exactly who I would have started with. Did you know that after the collection of Selected Journals, most recently they released her Complete Journals? I'm currently on the second volume. Anyway! Love me some LMM, and love seeing her journals in the wild! That is all. ♡
Loved your responses. I have l.m. Montgomery’s journals on my wishlist-huge Anne of green gables fan! And I would love to hear Luke’s impressions after journaling for a week. 💛 thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing your advice for new teachers! I'll definitely try it all out. Also, I'd love to see a video of Luke's thoughts on journaling after trying it for a bit!
Thank you for sharing! You convinced me to pick up A Walk Between Heaven and Earth from my local library, and I love it so much I bought my own copy. What an inspiring book! Have you read any May Sarton journals? She is prolific and one of my favorite journal themed books.
Thank you for answering my question on reading past journals x Before I asked you the question I had done just that and it wasn’t the nicest experience as times were dark when I wrote those entries. I now feel totally free to stick them on a shelf and never look at them again so thank you 🙏. Artists way and A country diary of an Edwardian lady (I’m from the UK and read it as a little girl) are both wonderful x
Epic reading slump here too!! 🤦🏻♀️ I NEED those L.M. Montgomery journals.. definitely going to splurge on that soon. I’m curious if you have ever read the “Emily Of New Moon” series by her? I loved it so much more than the Anne books personally.
Hello ! This was great! I think it would be fun to have Luke journal for a week! 😉. Super fun! Thank you always for being here ! Lots of love to you from my home to yours! 🏠❤️🏠📚☕️
You're searching for THE book that will change your life forever... Sometimes, I feel just the same. I don't know why. I keep searching even if I know it may not exist. It feel so great to know that somebody on earth is searching too
Loved this mini q&a & can't wait for more vids to come!! Also I forgot to submit my question but would you be open to having penpals? I know how much you love letters lol oh & also what do you teach? I'm thinking that if I ever go to college I want to go to become a art/painting teacher for highschool, my art teachers really helped me out in all my school years & I want to be able to help other too
I would recommend all books by Janice Macleod to you. She has written 3 books about living in Paris, and they're all wonderful. A Paris Year by her is very similar in feel to the Edith Holden diary, I think you would enjoy it.
Thank you Tina for this lovely video!❤️ It was fascinating as always. Also - great questions, my favourite (but very difficult) was about what would you like to happen to your journals after your death. I think about it from time to time but honestly I don't even know. I guess I wouldn't want other people to publish them as a book or anything like that because I don't want anyone to financially benefit from them (lol)(it's rather petty of me😅). Anyways...Thanks again!😃
I totally feel the same way about Instagram! I’m so much better off without it, though it was really difficult to bring myself to delete my account initially.
Can you tell more about your ‘constant battle with screens’ because I too seem to NOT be able to put them down, how many lists or mindmaps I might write about why I want to be less attached to them…
Great video ! I wonder : how do you make your journal practice evolve ? And also could you do a video about mind maps in your journal practice? It's something I've been wanting to explore but I don't know where to start... Have a good day !
If you’re looking for more journals to read, I highly recommend Modern Nature by Derek Jarman. It’s a bit different because he wrote the journals knowing that they would be published after he died, but they’re just beautiful. He was a art film maker in London who was diagnosed with AIDS and then moved to a cottage on the shore to garden, process, create art, and write. It’s totally full of beautiful nature imagery and lyricism; I read it for my Queer Lit class this semester and was enthralled.
Thank you so much for this, Ian 💜 I added it to my list and will check with the library to see if I can get it on inter loan. Sounds stunning and totally up my alley!!
If Luke is up for journaling, I think that would be such a cool video! I'm always interested to see how journaling would affect non-journalers if they decided to take it up. I think a lot of us have been doing it so long that it's more like a habit and we don't necessarily see the day to day effects of it. Side note: how do you mind map? I've heard your mention it before and I think I know the bare bones of what it is, but is there a specific or go-to way you do it?
YES, YES, YES! I read this comment to Luke and he thought that this was super insightful. I'm super curious as to how he would feel about it too. Oooh love the mind map question - cue adding it to my video list haha
I know its not normally the kind of content you make, but would you ever do a video on your tattoos/meanings? They are so goregous by the way, I absolutely adore them! P.s. i totally understand if their meanings are too personal to share online, or if thats not the kind of video you want to make!
I LOVE this comment!! I really enjoy watching these types videos too but always felt that I didn't have enough tattoos haha. I just have the ones on my fingers, wrist and two on my ankles. I'd love to get more, but all of my ideas just don't feel quite right. I'll add this question to my next Q&A!
you may enjoy reading Thoreau's journals. Nature journaling mixed with philosophy and daily life. When I die I'm burning all my diaries and journals with me. We'll be cremated together.....me and my stories will be together.
No Instagram. So is there any other way for us to reach out to you? E-mail maybe? A telegram I'd? We're not even too large in numbers rn, so it won't be overwhelming I think. Think about it. Because the following you've is like very pure, genuine, deep hearted people, similar to you. And, we'd all love love love to have a talk with you. ❤
Thank you for this comment!! Gosh, I wish we could send telegrams. That would be awesome. Email is probably the best (tina.m.cody@gmail.com) though I'll admit that I'm incredibly slow with emails since I love to give long winded and thoughtful replies lol. Thank you so, so much for your kind words!
