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

[Colabamumbai]

Im 71, written a dozen books in my 11 years here. No diary necessary. 

[giddyup]

22 minutes ago, Colabamumbai said:

Im 71, written a dozen books in my 11 years here. No diary necessary. 

So you have total recall as to what happened before you were 60? Were all the books autobiographical or fiction?

Edited November 18, 2021 by giddyup

[atpeace]

54 minutes ago, giddyup said:

So you have total recall as to what happened before you were 60? Were all the books autobiographical or fiction?

I wonder if it is the process of journaling that is beneficial.  The content is secondary and rarely even contemplated a day or years later.  Reflecting and moving on is powerful.  For example, jotting down how I became angry at people that merely disagreed with me helped me let go of this type of anger.

[allanos]

In 1966, age 21, I made an overland journey from Alexandria in Egypt, via Cairo, to Victoria Falls in what was then Rhodesia. The journey took me a few months to complete, and I religiously kept updating my notes and observations daily, in a journal.

 

Fifty-five years later, I can say that I have never, ever, once gone back in the journal to revisit the trials, tribulations and triumphs that I met each and every day of that sojourn in Africa.

 

Now age 76, I suppose I don't want to bring back the memories of all of those things which I thought were important at the time. I am not sure what emotions would be evoked in me, and feel that, perhaps, it is better that I let sleeping dogs lie.

[newnative]

     It's funny you should post this topic--I just said to my partner yesterday that I wished I had kept a journal.   Perhaps not writing in it every day but at least taking the time to write about special occasions or events.  As I get older my memories get blurrier and it would be nice to have a record to refresh my recollections.  Thank goodness we at least have lots of photos.  

[giddyup]

2 hours ago, allanos said:

In 1966, age 21, I made an overland journey from Alexandria in Egypt, via Cairo, to Victoria Falls in what was then Rhodesia. The journey took me a few months to complete, and I religiously kept updating my notes and observations daily, in a journal.

 

Fifty-five years later, I can say that I have never, ever, once gone back in the journal to revisit the trials, tribulations and triumphs that I met each and every day of that sojourn in Africa.

 

Now age 76, I suppose I don't want to bring back the memories of all of those things which I thought were important at the time. I am not sure what emotions would be evoked in me, and feel that, perhaps, it is better that I let sleeping dogs lie.

Unless the trip you mention involved a lot of disappointment or tragedy, why would it invoke any negative feelings?

[khunPer]

At least since Facebook all activities have been recorded for numerous, even down to what's eaten in the daily meals...

 

More seriously, photos from the past - even during the later Facebook or like media years - are good memory boosters. And it's never too late to begin write one's memoirs; in the digital age even easy to correct and expand in for example one- or several Word-documents...

[huckingfell]

Hi I started a daily blog about 12 years ago when I was in Pattaya with my Filipino wife, we moved back to the UK a couple of years ago, the main reason I past on it every is that my wife's family in the Philippines can have a look every day to see how we are doing when we were in Thailand and now the UK.

 

http://stanleykemp.blogspot.com/

 

just finished today's post on it.

[allanos]

1 hour ago, giddyup said:

Unless the trip you mention involved a lot of disappointment or tragedy, why would it invoke any negative feelings?

I faced many difficulties, part of it related to my extremely limited resources, but many  delays with visa and border issues, all exacerbating my precarious financial situation, together with a robbery in Dar-es-Salaam.

 

None of these challenges can be called a tragedy, but they were worrisome and demanding.  Remember, too, that I was a virtual naif at the time, and not the grizzled old war I have since become.

[RocketDog]

On 11/17/2021 at 5:30 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

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.

Agreed. But with a variation.

 

I started a diary when I was 20,and have kept it for nearly 45 years. I stopped when I moved to the Kingdom five years ago. Over the last few years I tried reading some of it. It's in 4 large bound blank books along with miscellaneous cards and relevant documents.

 

I always thought it would be good to look back to see how I got here. It turns out to be rather boring and overly detailed and often humiliating.

 

What it revealed was how serious I was about too many things, and how my memory of some things was blurred and often incorrect, as you say. Many events and my reaction and handling of them makes me squirm a bit.

It shows how naive and gullible I was as well. That was good in an ironic way because it shows how I came to make some of the decisions in life that I later regretted and have since chastised myself for. It shows that because of who I was and what I knew then made my actions were almost inevitable. It also made me realize how insignificant most of my life was to the larger world. Live and learn I guess. On the other hand it also showed how good and relevant some of my decisions were in retrospect; I felt proud of myself for a few things.

 

So I'm ambivalent about its value but at least it's there if I want to look at it.

[OneMoreFarang]

42 minutes ago, RocketDog said:

Agreed. But with a variation.

 

I started a diary when I was 20,and have kept it for nearly 45 years. I stopped when I moved to the Kingdom five years ago. Over the last few years I tried reading some of it. It's in 4 large bound blank books along with miscellaneous cards and relevant documents.

 

I always thought it would be good to look back to see how I got here. It turns out to be rather boring and overly detailed and often humiliating.

 

What it revealed was how serious I was about too many things, and how my memory of some things was blurred and often incorrect, as you say. Many events and my reaction and handling of them makes me squirm a bit.

It shows how naive and gullible I was as well. That was good in an ironic way because it shows how I came to make some of the decisions in life that I later regretted and have since chastised myself for. It shows that because of who I was and what I knew then made my actions were almost inevitable. It also made me realize how insignificant most of my life was to the larger world. Live and learn I guess. On the other hand it also showed how good and relevant some of my decisions were in retrospect; I felt proud of myself for a few things.

 

So I'm ambivalent about its value but at least it's there if I want to look at it.

Good comment!

I think we should be fair to ourselves and look at what we did and not judge with the knowledge of an (more or less)  old person what we could have done different.

 

And sometimes what was initially not so good ended up in good situations. I.e. if I would have married one of the girls which I wanted a long time ago in a country far away then probably I would now live together with an old woman in that some country cold and far away.

But in reality I didn't get any of the women which I was interested in at that time. And when I was 30 I moved to Thailand and enjoyed life here with lots of cute and pretty girls. Good that that happened!

 

 

[allanos]

21 hours ago, giddyup said:

Unless the trip you mention involved a lot of disappointment or tragedy, why would it invoke any negative feelings?

I neglected to mention, in my earlier response to you, that I contracted a severe case of a stomach bug or food-poisoning when staying in Massawa, Ethiopia (now Eritrea), on the Red Sea. 

 

I had no money for a doctor or to visit a hospital, and if it wasn't for a British nurse who came to my aid and nursed me through the ordeal over a period of a few days, I feel I may have succumbed. 

 

This, then, was probably the closest I came to "tragedy" during the whole trip.

[giddyup]

23 minutes ago, allanos said:

I neglected to mention, in my earlier response to you, that I contracted a severe case of a stomach bug or food-poisoning when staying in Massawa, Ethiopia (now Eritrea), on the Red Sea. 

 

I had no money for a doctor or to visit a hospital, and if it wasn't for a British nurse who came to my aid and nursed me through the ordeal over a period of a few days, I feel I may have succumbed. 

 

This, then, was probably the closest I came to "tragedy" during the whole trip.

I spent 3 months in a South African jail back in the early 70's, not a pleasant experience at the time, but just another story to tell years later. I think time does heal most wounds.

[allanos]

45 minutes ago, giddyup said:

I spent 3 months in a South African jail back in the early 70's, not a pleasant experience at the time, but just another story to tell years later. I think time does heal most wounds.

Wanna share a bit more? Where were you incarcerated? I spent a couple of nights each in SA gaols, once in the notorious John Vorster Square, Johannesburg, and also in Barkly West, a "forbidden" (sperrgebiet) diamond area, just outside of Kimberley.

 

Yes, I much agree, there are not too many wounds which time does not, or cannot, heal (or at least ameliorate)!

[giddyup]

7 minutes ago, allanos said:

Wanna share a bit more? Where were you incarcerated? I spent a couple of nights each in SA gaols, once in the notorious John Vorster Square, Johannesburg, and also in Barkly West, a "forbidden" (sperrgebiet) diamond area, just outside of Kimberley.

 

Yes, I much agree, there are not too many wounds which time does not, or cannot, heal (or at least ameliorate)!

Spent a few days in Jo'burg and the remainder in Durban on remand. Given a suspended sentence and told to leave. The details will have to remain a secret.

[patman30]

On 11/18/2021 at 11:48 AM, giddyup said:

You are missing the point entirely. Recollecting an event won't be the same as how you felt about it at the time. Memories aren't infallible, they change with time. A journal also gives you an insight into the kind of person you were, 30 or 40 or more years ago.

it seems you missed the point of my comment, you have to strengthen connections in the brain or they get weak
do not fill your head with unimportant <deleted>
ponder or meditate to restrengthen those connections
some people may need a diary or journal
io never had one so all i can do is retain what i have
i also do not limit my thoughts to words,
but that conversation is likely beyond your understanding also.

[giddyup]

4 minutes ago, patman30 said:

it seems you missed the point of my comment, you have to strengthen connections in the brain or they get weak
do not fill your head with unimportant <deleted>
ponder or meditate to restrengthen those connections
some people may need a diary or journal
io never had one so all i can do is retain what i have
i also do not limit my thoughts to words,
but that conversation is likely beyond your understanding also.

Do you also levitate?

[patman30]

4 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Do you also levitate?

thanks for proving me right.????‍♂️

[giddyup]

1 minute ago, patman30 said:

thanks for proving me right.????‍♂️

My initial question was directed at the mere mortals, not for those with superhuman powers. Up, up and away!

[patman30]

Just now, giddyup said:

My initial question was directed at the mere mortals, not for those with superhuman powers. Up, up and away!

pondering or meditating is superhuman..... LOL

[giddyup]

1 minute ago, patman30 said:

pondering or meditating is superhuman..... LOL

Which has nothing to do with keeping a journal. Start your own post if you want to enlighten us with your meditation techniques.

[patman30]

2 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Which has nothing to do with keeping a journal. Start your own post if you want to enlighten us with your meditation techniques.

i was commenting about retaining memories when one does not have a journal
many people are in same boat as yourself, they did not keep them
clearly you have no interest in learning how to retain memories
yet you regret not having a journal
and thinking seems to be too difficult a task.
????‍♂️

i got my memories, i am good
you do you

[giddyup]

1 minute ago, patman30 said:

i was commenting about retaining memories when one does not have a journal
many people are in same boat as yourself, they did not keep them
clearly you have no interest in learning how to retain memories
yet you regret not having a journal
and thinking seems to be too difficult a task.
????‍♂️

i got my memories, i am good
you do you

I see your meditation hasn't taught you to be above bickering or using insults, so might I suggest you refrain from further comments before I ask the moderator to close the post. Or is that your intent?

[seedy]

16 minutes ago, giddyup said:

 I ask the moderator to close the post. Or is that your intent?

WOW

It's MY post !!! 555

[giddyup]

9 minutes ago, seedy said:

WOW

It's MY post !!! 555

Exactly.

[seedy]

2 hours ago, giddyup said:

Exactly.

You do realize that this is a public Internet Forum

You do realize that topics often - even usually - go off track

If you want 'My way or the Hiway' probably best to start a website

Threats to 'Tell the Teacher' or taking your toys and going home seems so ... juvenile

[giddyup]

41 minutes ago, seedy said:

You do realize that this is a public Internet Forum

You do realize that topics often - even usually - go off track

If you want 'My way or the Hiway' probably best to start a website

Threats to 'Tell the Teacher' or taking your toys and going home seems so ... juvenile

I don't need to hear from half baked gurus as to how to live my life. If I wanted to learn meditation techniques there's a hundred to choose from on YouTube.

[giddyup]

Moderator, please close this post, I believe it has run it's course.

[JensenZ]

On 11/17/2021 at 4:44 PM, giddyup said:

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

My memories are growing faint too, but I find reminiscing about the past is depressing because there is plenty of bad mixed in with the good, and the bad is easier to remember. Also it makes me focus more on my age. When I go, the past goes with me, but I don't care. My footprints left on the globe are not important.

Edited November 19, 2021 by JensenZ

[ballpoint]

In 1987 when I was 20, I got a job based in Singapore. It was the first time I'd been outside of New Zealand or Australia, and the first time I'd been out of the country on my own.  Back then, with no internet and limited choice of TV, and not wanting to go out partying every night, I decided to keep a journal to record some of my thoughts about the new culture I was now a part of.  It wasn't something I'd write in every night, but whenever I had something to say about what I'd seen that day, or some thought had occurred to me, I'd scribble away in it.  I also built up some short stories based on my feelings and observations.  As someone said previously, the actual process of writing them down was somewhat therapeutic, as it allowed me to assemble my thoughts and put them down in an ordered way.  

 

I kept at it for the three years I was based there, and the first year I spent in Bangkok, after transferring to the company's Thailand operation, before winding it down.  I still have it with me, and occasionally look through it.  Some of the things I wrote make me marvel at my naivety, while others actually impress me by my insight at that age, and, on the whole, it's good to have a record of what was a major turning point in my life.  It's not meant for anyone else, though I wouldn't care if someone did read it.  Apart from one or two of the stories, which I quite like, I doubt if anyone else would find much of interest in it.  Maybe I'll get it placed in my coffin when the time comes to be cremated.  Take my thoughts and memories with me when I go.