Blue pink

....are the colours I would describe the last day. I have my own concept now to give my days colours, mottos, a symbol, questions and answers and a symbol that helps me with achievements.

As a writer I know about my own misuse, when I wrap every thought in words, bringing it into a poem that is maybe too personal or the expression is too direct. Many of us use poetry directly to express their feelings. Most common poetry is still about  love, romance and heartbreak. People love to write and read about it. The most popular writers nowadays are not the ones who write about politics, warriors, activism or human rights. I guess that most people who crave for poetry are already tired of the news and don't want to read about one of these topics.

But back to my mood and the idea of journaling. I had once books I used as a diary. With the years, I had a heap of paper and when I looked back into my entries, I had no good feeling about my past. At least comes the point where you want to get rid of them and so I burnt the books in one of my fires.

As an activist for the climate, I try not to use so much paper and use my phone more for different activities, than I use papers, notebooks and a diary. But sometimes we have to write things down, not on a keyboard. It gives me also the opportunity to take it to every place. To prevent to many bad entries with only negative stories, I try to give my journal a structure. Pinterest helped me a lot to find ideas.

I use categories, to help to structure my feelings and experiences of a day or a week.

My categories are:

• Thing(s) to remember for a day
• Mood (Colour, smileys or pictures)
• Motto
• Rune/Symbol
• Questions and Answers
• Additional: Card of the Day (Oracle, Tarot etc)

These little categories can help to find simple words or other expressions for your feelings. This is why I described my mood as "blue-pink" with a little hint of purple. Colours have a meaning in psychology and in every day life and also a spiritual one, like the 7 chakras.

My deep blue stands for strong, reliable, loyal, confident but also for distant and melancholic while bright pink is described as high-energy, playful, wild and festive. Blue has also been described as trustworthy, calm and peaceful. The last two things are indeed these, I crave for, because the world is chaotic enough. Pink varies from sentimental to energetic. It can have a different meaning when it's bright or intense.

These descriptions are just examples how a simple form of expression can help you to understand your own feelings. I chose warm and cold colours which give me a feeling of having many aspects in me they want to be expressed and seen. I wrote down some questions I am currently dealing with and for some, I tried to find answers. This helps you to focus on the things you are dealing with. You can also see what kind of possibilities you have, what you want and what you don't want and what you need to be happy.

Choose a motto for the day, something that describes it in max. two words, or a quote that comes to your mind when you think about it. The things to remember for the day at the beginning of the journal should be always a positive suggestion or reminder that you are important - like "you matter" etc. Encourage yourself with words you need right now.

In that way, I keep my entries shorter, my feelings find ways to get expressed and things get clearer when I read them. I save paper and time, if I want to save time. I can find a way to help myself when the storm outside gets to strong. It also gives you an overview where you stand, which path you want to choose and which ways are not good for you. It helps to make cuts, open new doors and leaving old paths which don't serve you no more.

As a writer and HSP, it's maybe a good method, to help yourself but don't misuse poetry as diary.

Enjoy.