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LM: #301: Between a wig and a baseball glove

February 03 2025 – 09:00am

Our hearts and minds are like cluttered closets.

If you’re organizing a closet, you’ll only get so far rummaging and rearranging.

That shoebox of old photos is held in place between your uncle’s worn baseball glove and the stack of wigs from Halloween costumes past. One wrong move and you’ll be buried under family heirlooms and unused hobby supplies.

When organizing our hearts and minds, we run across thoughts and emotions and end up stuffing them where they’ll fit. We end up with such tangled knots of unresolved issues, the easiest course seems to avoid opening that door again.

It’s no surprise that when we attempt to journal, we end up disappointed. Our writing, as a reflection of our inner world, doesn’t look like the well-organized closet we’d envisioned, where you can as easily grab a winter coat as your beach essentials.

The way to get there is spread it all across the floor, throw out what you don’t need, then put everything in its place, maybe with the help of a sturdy framework designed for the purpose. You won’t get it right the first time, and keeping it organized will be an ongoing practice.

That is how you organize a closet, and that is how you journal.

Aphorism: “Truth has its own definite boundaries, but that which arises from uncertainty is delivered over to guesswork and the irresponsible license of a frightened mind.” —Seneca

Book: The Great Influenza (Amazon) tells the story of the 1918 flu epidemic.

Best,
David
P.S. The 100 Journal Prompts Workbook can help make this your year.

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