Write it down

On this day, June 14^th, in 1942, Anne Frank began to keep her diary.  It was one month before she and her family went into hiding. 

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”    -Anne Frank

Do you keep a diary? 

Maybe you call it a gratitude journal.  Maybe it’s a blog.  Maybe it’s notes by the side of the bed that you scribble in the night.  Maybe it’s the words you write next to the pictures in the scrapbook you are making for your family.  Maybe you enter thoughts into your Blackberry or iphone.  How do you tell your story?

Your story is important.  Your voice is unique.  Your thoughts are original.  Do you think Jeff Kinney would have imagined that his childhood memories would one day become the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” sensation?  His original thoughts also help link us to our universal truths and our shared experiences.  His memories make us laugh. 

Is your story funny? Serious? Thought provoking?  A cautionary tale?  All of the above?If you don’t write it down, how is anyone going to know? 

I realize you can tell people what you think.  You can share your experiences verbally. But when you write it down, it’s forever.  I know that I can tell my kids something and if they are not ready to hear it, it goes in one ear and out the other.  But they may be ready to hear it 10 years later.  If there is a written record of my thoughts, they can return to it. 

I have some of my mom’s old books and she has written in the margins, underlined things, and dog eared pages that were important to her.  She has always given me books as gifts and she writes beautiful notes in them.  These are treasures to me.  I am lucky to have my mom’s thoughts and dreams and wishes written down to continually inspire me.

Where would we be without the ideas and poetry and stories of people who have gone before us?  We all have something important to say.   The words you write down may be the words that give another person hope.  Maybe even almost 70 years later as is the case with Anne Frank.   Considering her circumstances, these words just take my breath away.

“It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.”    -Anne Frank

©2011 Sue Bidstrup, Great Big Yes™ All Rights Reserved