Although I have always enjoyed writing, when I began high school I challenged myself to write in a daily journal. Nearly six years later, I have an accumulation of almost 11 journals in which I have documented my thoughts, reflections and experiences. Upon rereading some of these pages during a weekend home, I have come to realize, without total shock, that through all of these words I have undergone great change. From the first sentence in the first journal that 14-year-old me wrote, to the last sentence in the 11 journal that 20-year-old me just finished writing, I unintentionally detailed my changes in perspective, adaptations in attitude, depth of thought and general plasticity. And through these journals I have discovered something I believe is essential to the positive growth of our increasingly overwhelming world. And to this realization I challenge you: Think.
Reflect upon your world. Interpret your interactions. Demand thoughtfulness from yourself. Produce meaning, and give overdue purpose to your life. Too often I have found that we miss completely the intensity and beauty of life that can be discovered through careful and constant reflection and interpretation.
I tried to explain this predicament to a peer, but was greeted with advice with which I disagree: “Stop over thinking, it will only ruin your mood.” Thus my previous finding was solidified, just one person, but an ongoing theme—one with which I find myself all too often participating. However, contrary to the tone in which the message was conveyed by my peer, I have found, with striking consistency, that a mood ruined by “overthinking,” could only have been a dull or stagnant mood, to begin with.
Begin to be bold. Challenge yourself through pure and wholesome awareness. Accept that, perhaps, a ruined mood from thinking may be a mood resulting from becoming content in thoughtless or surface level interactions. Find people who make you see the world differently. Question everything—even the answers. It seems that the answers we find allow us to understand the path that lead us to a sense of peace. Do not fear complexities. You may find that you are disturbed by the depths of your mind. Do not become distressed by this discovery. The depths of your mind are your power, your strength. The thoughts, understandings and interpretations you find there make you, uniquely you.
Search for an outlet that inspires you to explore your individual reality. The world you are enduring is often not the world that others see you to be experiencing. So, find something that allows you to delve into your mind. Perhaps it is a long run, meditation or prayer. Maybe it is a bike ride through the woods, a yoga class or a drive, begun without plans of a destination. It could even be watching the clouds roll through, or staring at your ceiling before drifting to sleep.
Write your thoughts and reflections down. Consider the words of German literary genius, and interpreter of existentialism, alienation and anxieties, Fraz Kafka: “One advantage of keeping a journal is that you become aware, with reassuring clarity, of the changes which you constantly suffer.” So again, I challenge you: Think. Become aware of your changes. Step into a world of growth and ultimate thoughtfulness.
