Do you ever wish that you'd kept a diary/ journal?

[giddyup]

Maybe some of you have, but I never did and it's something I regret, especially as I'm fast approaching the big eight-0. I've lived a full and varied life, with a lot of travelling, and a few serious relationships to spice things up, but it would have been nice to be able to read my feelings and thoughts at any given time, as my memories are growing fainter with each passing year. Would a journal have been a good thing to refresh these memories?

[Pravda]

That's what brain is for

[ozimoron]

I'd be rich if I did. Started my career in Bangkok in 1979. Also spent 24 years in Angeles City.

 

[giddyup]

2 minutes ago, Pravda said:

That's what brain is for

Do you honestly think you can remember everything you've ever experienced? You really must have a phenomenal memory.

[Gecko123]

I keep activity, expense, and diet logs which have helped motivate me, manage expenses, and improve my diet. They can be surprisingly helpful in reconstructing what I did on a given day if the need arises.

 

I'm not sure if keeping a journal of my thoughts and feelings would be something I would enjoy as not all my thoughts and feelings are pleasing or something I would necessarily want to reflect back upon. I think the activity logs will give me satisfaction later on in life when I reflect back on how I spent my time. When I look down at my hands, I seem to be able to remember every last bit of work they've ever done and this gives me a great deal of satisfaction.

[connda]

34 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Would a journal have been a good thing to refresh these memories?

Only if you wish to live vicariously in the past.  I'd rather live right here, right now.

[giddyup]

Just now, connda said:

Only if you wish to live vicariously in the past.  I'd rather live right here, right now.

The past is what made us what we are.

[OneMoreFarang]

37 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Do you honestly think you can remember everything you've ever experienced? You really must have a phenomenal memory.

Yes, we remember things. But that doesn't mean we remember reality.

Some time ago I thought about work which I did about 20 years ago. I was sure the company gave me a list of requirements and I had to do work according to what they decided.

Then sometime later someone asks me about details of that job and I looked up old emails and other records which I still had in my PC. And what did I find? Nobody gave me a list with requirements. I told the company I suggest we do it like this and that and then they worked to give me what I wanted.

So my memory was clearly not very good. And that was about work and no emotions were involved. I am sure if we try to remember things with emotions involved like previous love affairs or the end of those affairs then I am sure our memory will play a lot of tricks with us and what we remember has maybe not much to do anymore with what actually happened.

[Caldera]

No. I'm much more interested in the present and the future than in the past.

[scubascuba3]

In 1998 when i backpacked round the world I didn't bother taking photos after the first month, instead wanted to remember it, but of course years and years later memories fade. I couldn't be bothered with a journal but more photos would have been good although have a down side

Edited November 17, 2021 by scubascuba3

[giddyup]

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

In 1998 when i backpacked round the world I didn't bother taking photos after the first month, instead wanted to remember it, but of course years and years later memories fade. I couldn't be bothered with a journal but more photos would have been good although have a down side

Fortunately I did take a lot of photos through the years, all in several albums back in Australia, but I still wish I'd kept more of a detailed written record of my travels.

[CharlieH]

Never even entered my head, but now later in life, absol,utely! Wish I had the idea and discipline to keep it up over the years.I think I would have enjouyed the trips down memory lane and mentally reliving them( and some not so much).

Yes I can remember a fair bit, but  not the finer detail and little dthings a journal would have held.

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

I never kept a diary. But a couple of years ago I made an Excel file with a line for each year in my life. And I update that from time to time.

In the columns I put information like what I did at that time like school, which work at which company. Other columns contained names of friends, which vehicle I had. It also included which mobile phone I had, which music I liked at that time, samples of movies which I watched and things like that.

I.e. when I moved to Thailand I heard constantly the song That's Why You Go Away from Michael Learns To Rock.

Or some time before that I loved the movie La Boum. Those things help me to remember certain times of my life.

 

 

[BritManToo]

I drink to forget.

Keeping a journal would have been counterproductive.

[OneMoreFarang]

And then there is Google Timeline

https://timeline.google.com/

It shows many of us for the last couple of years exactly where we were at which day and time. Scary.

 

And in case someone suggest to turn off that service. I thought about that. But what do I really turn off? Does Google stop recording my activities? Or is it just that when I turn it off that I don't see anymore what I did but Google still knows it...

[Golden Triangle]

Journals are highly private & emotional, my brother kept one and wrote in it every day, when he died from COVID-19 just under a year ago my sister grabbed all six volumes, she needed to keep them from his 2 sons who were only interested in what money they could get their hands on.

 

She threw them on a bonfire without reading even 1 article making sure they were completely destroyed, nearly a year later they still haven't collected his ashes from the crematorium, but they made sure that one bought a new car & the other a hefty deposit for a house.

 

I won't bother thanks.

[giddyup]

1 minute ago, Golden Triangle said:

Journals are highly private & emotional, my brother kept one and wrote in it every day, when he died from COVID-19 just under a year ago my sister grabbed all six volumes, she needed to keep them from his 2 sons who were only interested in what money they could get their hands on.

 

She threw them on a bonfire without reading even 1 article making sure they were completely destroyed, nearly a year later they still haven't collected his ashes from the crematorium, but they made sure that one bought a new car & the other a hefty deposit for a house.

 

I won't bother thanks.

I expect all my photo albums to go in a bonfire as well. They wouldn't interest anyone but me, and it was probably the same with your brothers journals.

[seedy]

“If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.”

― Lao Tzu

 

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by seedy

[giddyup]

1 minute ago, seedy said:

“If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.”

― Lao Tzu

 

 

I'm not talking about living in the past, but referring to it to refresh a memory. Or are we supposed to erase our memories the second they become the past?

[OneMoreFarang]

4 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

she needed to keep them from his 2 sons who were only interested in what money they could get their hands on

Why did she have to keep them away from the diaries? Did she think he buried money somewhere and described it in his diaries?

Maybe the diaries would have been interesting for the sons. I think it's not nice that the sister did what she did. But that's only my humble opinion. 

[OneMoreFarang]

5 minutes ago, seedy said:

“If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.”

― Lao Tzu

Especially in Thailand there seem to be lots of guys who fail again and again with the same type of girlfriend. And then they say things like: All women are bad. They always do x and y.

But if these guys would have spend maybe an hour or two thinking about their past mistakes then maybe they wouldn't do the same mistakes again and again.

[timendres]

Diaries are for teenage girls.

[giddyup]

1 minute ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Especially in Thailand there seem to be lots of guys who fail again and again with the same type of girlfriend. And then they say things like: All women are bad. They always do x and y.

But if these guys would have spend maybe an hour or two thinking about their past mistakes then maybe they wouldn't do the same mistakes again and again.

Isn't that supposed to be a sign of insanity, keep repeating the same mistakes, but expecting a different outcome each time.

[giddyup]

Just now, timendres said:

Diaries are for teenage girls.

Tell that to Samuel Pepys.

[it is what it is]

 

i did keep a diary, almost every day, from ages 18 - to early 40s, never had the time to read them until covid came along. i read them slowly over several weeks absorbing my past, absolutely fascinating; my thoughts, feelings, ups and downs, things i did, people i did them with... there was so much i had forgotten, so much i mis-remembered and it was interesting how the order of when events happened had been jumbled up in my memory. it was very enjoyable chatting with friends and reliving our pasts.

[Golden Triangle]

5 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Why did she have to keep them away from the diaries? Did she think he buried money somewhere and described it in his diaries?

Maybe the diaries would have been interesting for the sons. I think it's not nice that the sister did what she did. But that's only my humble opinion. 

Mainly because he knew that they were 2 money grabbing little sh!tes, he knew that, when he visited us a couple of times we would discuss it late at night, he knew what they were upto, he wanted to spend his money before he died, unfortunately he didn't get the timing right, he also had similar conversations with my sister as they only lived around the corner from each other.

 

You can't win them all unfortunately.

[sanuk711]

I started a journal 2 months ago---- Basically on advice from one of my Daughters (Clinical Psychologist) because she said it would help with my memory loss.  It has --a great deal. Google/FaceBook etc can be of help......and if you have someone in Oz who can scan, or photo your photos....and send them to you--it might help a lot.

My daughter showed me what was the easiest way--- not try to stat at the beginning....just jot down a memory lots of them, the try to put the year with them, news reports at the time or near to it google and date ---I broke up with a girl I thought I would marry after an argument that I found out years latter I was wrong....... that was In ...... Kennedy died the year before Google...so that was 1964

 

Some real old memories come back--- can look at newspaper clippings etc Google really is great.

 

give it a go Giddyup

 

[OneMoreFarang]

44 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

Mainly because he knew that they were 2 money grabbing little sh!tes, he knew that, when he visited us a couple of times we would discuss it late at night, he knew what they were upto, he wanted to spend his money before he died, unfortunately he didn't get the timing right, he also had similar conversations with my sister as they only lived around the corner from each other.

 

You can't win them all unfortunately.

Thanks for the follow up. That explains why it happened and not just that she decided that that is the way to do it. Much better.

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Especially in Thailand there seem to be lots of guys who fail again and again with the same type of girlfriend. And then they say things like: All women are bad. They always do x and y.

But if these guys would have spend maybe an hour or two thinking about their past mistakes then maybe they wouldn't do the same mistakes again and again.

I enjoy the bad women.

Wouldn't choose any other kind.

I don't believe all women are bad, just the ones I sleep with.

That doesn't mean I have to give them open access to my wallet.

Edited November 17, 2021 by BritManToo

[giddyup]

6 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I enjoy the bad women.

Wouldn't choose any other kind.

I don't believe all women are bad, just the ones I sleep with.

That doesn't mean I have to give them open access to my wallet.

You're a bit off topic here.