Palin on Point

I've barely finished the introduction to Micahel Palin's diaries and he's hit the nail on the head. So much so, that I thought it worth sharing.

On a diary:

"Prejudices bob to the surface, anger cackles, judgements fall over each other, huffing and puffing. Opinions and interpretations are impulsive, inconsistent and frequently contradictory. But I'm not sure if that matters. After all that's where a daily diary format differs from autobiography or memoir. It is an antidote to hindsight.

It seals the present moment and preserves it from the tidying process of context, perspective, analysis and balance. It becomes history, but quite unselfconsciously."

A short while ago the same point reared itself in my head while perusing over old scribblings. It is so nice when someone else takes a thought under your consideration and illustrates it with a clarity beyond what you can muster.