Kafka on Journaling

“Each of us has his own way of emerging from the underworld, mine is by writing."

Sketch, by Franz kafka

Kafka on Journaling

Kafka once observed that for him the act of writing was a way to overcome despair. As he put it, “Each of us has his own way of emerging from the underworld, mine is by writing.

For Kafka, writing was a solitary endeavor, best performed during the darkest hours of night, what he characterized as “the descent into the cold abyss of oneself.”

Indeed, Kafka kept journals and notebook, and would often stay up late at night writing about his day and coming up with ideas for stories. He loved these silent hours, observing, “one can never be alone enough when one writes, (…) there can never be enough silence (…) even night is not night enough.”

If you’re a night-owl like Kafka, then you’ll no doubt recognize the comfort and solace that such sleepless hours can provide. It’s a time-of-no-time when silence reigns and the rest of the world is asleep. For Kafka, these were the ideal conditions. He likened it to a kind of living death, observing: “Writing is a deeper sleep than death. Just as one wouldn't pull a corpse from its grave, I can't be dragged from my desk at night.”

Likewise, in a painting by Victor Lecomte, we see a man staying up late at night, reading by lamplight. It conveys accurately the stillness and calm of such nights, when all distractions are discarded and one can be completely alone.

Man reading by lamplight (1910), by Victor Lecomte

Kafka believed that these nocturnal hours spent writing were a way to escape both the outside world and himself. He explains, “I wanted to escape the unrest, to shut out the voices around me and within me, so I write.”

It’s a profoundly honest assesment of why writing and journaling can be such a beneficial pursuit. We write not only to explore ourselves, but -in a sense- to step beyond and outside our own mind. In writing, Kafka found some relief, but also what you might call “the life of the mind”. In this sense, he was most alive not during the day, but at night. In his solitude, he found solace. And in his journals he found life.

It’s a poignant reminder that all of us can benefit from writing or journaling. Whether it’s in the morning or at night, the opportunity to reflect and to inspect our own thoughts is vital to our sense of wellbeing. As Kafka characterized it, journaling helps us “escape from the underworld” back into the light.

Julian

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