I have become really interested in this daily practice of writing thing and what it may be doing to my brain.  And I came across this article two days ago and it has been on my mind.  {whomp-whomp}

Writing Your Way to Happiness NY Times article

The concept is based on the idea that we all have a personal narrative that shapes our view of the world and ourselves. But sometimes our inner voice doesn’t get it completely right. Some researchers believe that by writing and then editing our own stories, we can change our perceptions of ourselves and identify obstacles that stand in the way of better health.

I know this is so true to me {I have a loud inner voice} and that I usually process life by talking.  But by blogging each day and working to journal daily on top of that {which works out to more like once a week??}, I feel like I am re-wiring.  Surprisingly, maybe, to most people I love, I really do walk around ruminating a lot.  Maybe that is natural as a stay at home mom, maybe it is unique to me.  I found while I was teaching that summers could become hard when I wasn’t busy enough.  Now I am busy nearly all the time but I lack the girlfriend support I once had which may figure into it.  Maybe its being tired.  Or doing a lot of housework  Or just being a grown-up 🙂  But this daily practice has helped me focus, if not continually, then once a day on those bright spots in my day for which I am thankful and my journal helps me with the tougher or less pretty stuff, the stuff I would rather not have published in a public domain.  Journaling helps to work through or process those annoyances or inadequacies.  And I was happy to see some research can back my findings up!