journal-keeping ...
For today's prompt, I am allowing you into my journal for a little peek inside. A couple years back, I shared a glimpse inside my previous journal. That journal is filled up and the cover won't even lay flat anymore...it's so full of stickers, cutouts, papers, etc. You can check that out here, if you're interested.
My previous journal was just a completely random conglomeration of a bunch of different things. There wasn't any specific meaning or purpose behind any of the pages, other than the fact that I was simply putting pages together that I liked. My new journal, which is featured here today, is something I am being a bit more intentional about. This is a journal that I wish to be very personalized to me and my heart and soul and my loves and interests and all the things that bring me happiness and spark magic and whimsy in my life. I am going about this journal much slower than I did the first, as I am being very particular about what I want on each page.
In this journal, I want it to be and feel and look like "me". I'm choosing quotes or bookish excerpts that I either relate to very much or ones that speak to my heart and soul in a special way. I want words that reflect me, even if I'm not the one who originally wrote them. The above spread is my latest addition, and it features a quote that I came across that spoke directly to my soul.
It's no secret that I'm a lover of stickers...it's quite obvious when you look inside my journals. I have grown a collection of stickers that feel like me, and I love choosing just the right ones to put on each page. And, as you can see, the page on the left is still a work in progress. Previously, it would have driven me crazy to leave a page "undone"...I simply would not have done it. But now, I'm going at this journal in a very laid-back, leisurely, no-pressure sort of way. It's one way I'm practicing being gentle with myself.
Journaling, for me, has become one of the coziest hobbies and ways to nurture myself. I find that there are few things as wonderful as putting on a comfort movie or show of mine and sitting down with all my journal supply boxes out on the coffee table and couch and just have an hour or two of relaxing fun in the evening. It's a good way to settle down before bed, at least for me. {{smiles}}
Along with this journal, I keep several bookish journals (each one for a specific purpose), as well as a couple hodgepodge-y sorts of journals. I find that there is no way I would be able to keep just one at a time, and it's fun to bounce around to this one or that depending on my mood. It keeps me feeling creative, and that is a good thing for me.
What sorts of journals do you keep? I'd love to hear about your journal-keeping!