Journalled on Tuesday, 4 July 2023 | Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 22 degrees, warm, and slightly overcast.

This morning, I walked about 7 km but did not exercise. I am still feeling some effects of the cold, and returning to normal is a little tricky because I had broken my routine.

However, it is essential not to stop completely. Even walking without any exercise is better than nothing. It is necessary to do something every day, no matter how we feel or how little it is.

In the evening, I had an interesting conversation with one of my pupils. Marcela`s classes are twice a week from 7 to 7.45 pm. Sometimes, when I give the last class of the day, I am tired after giving ten or eleven classes since 7 a.m.; it is normal, a lot of work and classes. I was tired and really not looking forward to giving the class, but discipline and professionalism said that I had to do it.

The class began on time at 7 pm; Marcela was smiling and happy as she usually is. She is a beautiful and successful woman in her late thirties, who graduated in IT and project management with two post-graduations and works for a consultancy company in Rio.

She is married to Victor, another pupil of mine, whom I have been giving classes on and off for the last fifteen years or so. I like Marcela very much; our classes and conversations are always interesting, funny, and never boring. But this time, she asked me something that made me realise something I had not realised before.

Marcela asked me if I was still writing in my diary, journaling, and obviously, I am. The YouTube channel is based on what I have been living, feeling, and experiencing since December 2022. We talked about writing a journal every day, why I had begun, and what it now represents to me in my life.

Because of our conversation, I arrived at two significant points I had not thought about in any great depth before. As we were talking, I understood that when we write in a diary or journal, two clear benefits stand out.

First, the negative part, which I am taking a little from Stoicism, is that when we put on paper our negative feelings, thoughts, problems, issues, etc., we pass over from our mind all our problems, traumas, etc., to paper; it is as if it is a cleaning or cleansing process. Whatever is harmful inside of you, when you put it down onto paper, you are cleaning yourself and that part of your life. You are, to some extent, relieving yourself of that problem. It’s like you’re purging all the negativity, releasing the chains and shackles from your body and into the diary, cleansing your life in the process.

Since I began writing my diary, I have become a lighter and better person than before. Light in the sense of not thinking so much of the past and what could have been. Better because I am more focused and zen, being more centred and calmer makes me a happier person, and life seems to have many more positive points than negative ones nowadays.

The feeling of tranquillity has overflowed into all aspects of my life. My work, personal life with my daughters, and love life. In some ways, I have changed quite a bit in such a short period.

Second is the positive part; what we write in our diaries about our wishes, desires, aspirations, etc, on paper will eventually manifest. This profoundly depends on how focused we are on what we want. The more focused we are, the quicker what we desire comes to pass, and vice versa; if we are less focused and more distracted about our wishes and desires, the longer it will take for them to manifest. But what is certain is that, for sure, sooner or later, what has been written down will eventually appear and manifest in one form or another. As nothing is really what we initially imagined, we must have the wisdom to understand, appreciate, and accept it as it eventually manifests.

So, keeping a daily diary or journal has two fundamental advantages: writing down negative thoughts helps clear, cleanse, or cure ourselves of that issue.

On the other hand, whatever positive things, such as desires, ambitions, aspirations, etc., through the power of pen and paper, put the universe into action to conspire in favour of what we want, so that eventually, it materialises in our lives.

I hadn’t realised this before, but during my conversation with Marcela, these two points became clear to me, and I’m confident they work. It only depends on us and our faith in what we are capable of doing for ourselves, our family, and the people who are important to us.

Thank you, Marcela!

In bed by 9.00 pm.

Be kind and be happy, and if you can’t be happy, still be kind, but not naïve!

Thank you.

Thanks for reading my blog. Check out my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments.

Richard