Panning for Gold – The Power of Journaling
- Brenda Riojas
- Oct 11
- 4 min read
By Brenda Riojas, I Start Wondering Columnist
Why do we take pictures? Why do we keep a journal? For starters, we have an innate desire to capture a moment, one we want to remember. One we can revisit and perhaps, in a brief instant, relive.
Journaling, however, captures what a photo can’t. While both taking photos and journaling prompt us to pause, taking time to write down our thoughts can help us explore our emotions and record the details beyond that of sight, sounds, and smells. Writing gives more context.
Helen Cepero in her book Journaling as a Spiritual Practice: Encountering God Through Active Writing* provides some wonderful analogies about the benefits of journaling. Your journal, she notes, is like a camera lens to dive deeper. It is also like using a sifter to pan for gold.
She writes, “If you are willing to dip your journal into the stream of your life, even though it may mean getting a bit wet and muddy, you will find the gold of your own life and God’s eternal presence.”
Journaling allows us to go deeper, to sift through the graces. It helps us grow in self-understanding, clarifying our thoughts, beliefs, and values. In the pages that belong to us alone, we can set goals, record memories, acknowledge our struggles, and celebrate the joys.
Fennel Hudson, author and naturalist, said, “A pen transmits the voice of the soul.”
I keep several journals – one for ideas and prompts for future poems and stories, one for my grandchildren, another for mixed media to explore art techniques and mediums, one to examine my spiritual journey and talk to God. For me journaling is a form of prayer. It is a contemplative practice.
Cepero notes, “Journaling is like tuning a stringed instrument so that you can hear the true note of God’s grace.”
Being Intentional
Whether you are just getting started or beginning again, select a journal or journals for your practice, along with a favorite pen. At present, I am enjoying the different fountain pens and ink colors in my collection.
Next, set aside some time. Maybe early mornings or evenings fit your schedule, or once a week on weekends. The key is to establish a ritual that works best for you. I like preparing a cup of tea and lighting a candle before I get started. And if I am rushed for time, I find it helpful to set a seven-minute timer. Put the pen to paper and see where it takes you. Sometimes, the words surprise me as they emerge with memories and thoughts from years past--or emotions that I did not know I was harboring.
Your Journal, Your Space
Your journal is your space, a sacred space to chronicle a life’s journey that is uniquely yours, one only you can tell. It can be a thinking space, an outlet for thoughts, a runway for plans and ideas, and a memory keeper. It can be a place for lists, for dreams, for goals, a place for discernment, for revisiting an experience that made a significant impact. Or perhaps an event in your life that you gave little attention to may benefit from a closer look with a lens of distance and time. It can be a place where you think about the people in your life and their influence on you.
Some people like to keep a gratitude journal, a place to count all your blessings. The Book of Delights* by Ross Gray exemplifies how daily we can find beauty in our lives if we pay attention. He wrote the book after he decided he wanted to write an essay each day about something he found delightful.
Some days you might just want to write about the music you listen to or the books you are reading. How has your taste in either changed over the years? Why is a particular song or book your favorite?
The Power of Journaling
Your words and thoughts on the page can help bring clarity to experiences, explore emotions, see patterns in your responses, and actions. They can help in your personal growth.
Yes, journaling can be therapeutic. It is a healthy pause, too, from the busy in our lives and can serve as a detox from technology.
Additionally, studies in neuroscience and psychology point to the benefits of writing by hand. When you put pen to paper, it leads to higher levels of electrical activity in your brain. It sparks creativity, leads to memory retention, and even sharpens aging minds.
In a world that moves faster every day, journaling offers a pause, a moment to catch up with yourself. It’s a healthy practice that allows you to be honest, messy, reflective, or inspired. Whether you are looking for clarity, healing, or recording the beauty of an ordinary day, it’s your space. The blank page is always ready.
No Time Like the Present
Before you move on to your next activity, I invite you to get some paper and a pen, set the timer for seven minutes, and finish the sentence, “In this season of my life… “
*All purchases through Bookshop benefit an independent bookstore. Proceeds from the purchase of these books will be used to support I Start Wondering's programming for women who have reached midlife and beyond.
Journaling…recently has done what Brenda beautiful describes. It has provided healing, clarity, thankfulness and a form of prayer for me. Thankful for this wonderful written column that has certainly has encouraged me to start journaling more consistently or at least weekly.
Brenda, your words “panning for gold” resonate with me. I had been thinking about my memories of that day I learned to ride a bike without training wheels. As I hand-wrote some thoughts about it, those images gelled with the idea of how we balance aspects of our lives. After several iterations and Dorian’s editing input, I had an essay ready for I Start Wondering!
What a beautiful reminder to slow down and listen to our own hearts. I love the image of “panning for gold” — it perfectly captures how journaling helps us sift through our days to find meaning, gratitude, and grace. Thank you, Brenda, for inspiring us to pick up our pens and rediscover the treasures within our own stories.
Brenda- thanks for the insight that journaling allows us to sift through the graces and grow in self awareness-,as a methodical journaler it helps to think of my pretty much daily journaling at a deeper level
I have always been interested in journaling, but always felt I was doing it wrong. This article (and others) give me the confidence to write in my journal on a regular basis. And realize that how ever I do it, is not wrong, just my way.
The books mentioned sound like amazing books to read.
💜😇