WRITE YOUR LIFE I do an audio diary. Since I'm in the car alone for a few hours each week, it enables me to record thoughts freely and easily, when I'm otherwise locked into an activity that doesn't allow for serious distraction. I've been doing it for over ten years, and have produced thousands of hours of audio, which I release as a podcast. No, it's not a popular show; that's not its purpose. No, it's not even a true "journal", in the sense that I speak 100% freely: my family features in my thoughts quite a bit, and some things are simply not for public consumption. But I don't censor my manner of speech, which allows for expressive descriptions capturing my moods of the moment; my notions, my hopes, and all my many fears. As Cathy says, the journal becomes like a friend. In my case, that friend is named Dear Listener, to whom I speak directly, sometimes. One distinct advantage of the podcast format is that, sometimes, those real-life listeners that I do have email me, and offer opinions, insight, and encouragement. My imaginary friend has brought me real ones. Though a journal should never, EVER be composed with posterity in mind, lest we censor ourselves, either on purpose or by accident, it's nonetheless true that what we leave behind can be unimaginably precious to those that follow. Think of the impact Anne Lister is having now, as her journals become more widely available. Think of all the generations inspired by Virginia Woolf. Think of the Civil War era diaries written by average combatants, and those they left behind. The mundanity of our everyday lives will be strange and exotic only a few years hence; a journal written by someone in the 1950s, for instance -- and that's within living memory, still -- seems strange and fascinating to most of us now. Our worst fears, our most terrible shames, and our finest triumphs will be seen by people born into a world we can't even imagine. They won't be bored or disgusted by our habits and predilections, they'll be delighted we made a record of them. Write your life. Speak your life. Vlog your life. Whatever form it takes, it will be beautiful. Thursday, August 22, 2019 (c) 2019 lostnbronx CC-BY-SA 4.0 lostnbronxATgmailDOTcom