from the archives

Another year nearing the end.

I found these photos of some pages from a stack of journals in the folded book format I used for a few years. Fun to look back, and if you are a journal keeper, you have a pile, a stack, even a bookshelf full of memories to revisit.

Another advantage to this practice!

"Whether you're keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it's the same thing. What's important is you're having a relationship with your mind"
--Natalie Goldberg

Not thinking too much, just doing:

Okay, a little thinking:

Why do we journal?

Why are there diarists whose words get shared and passed on and repeated and quoted? (Anais Nin, I'm looking at you!) Because when we are brave enough to express our own inner truth, when we are brave enough to value our own experience in our own voice, when we are brave enough to know that it is a valid way to spend our work life, our leisure life, our creative life to simply express ourselves, we give a gift to everyone who happens across our work.

Sharing ourselves is not narcissistic or entitled. Sharing ourselves is a gift. We are all made of the same stardust, so why not realize that whatever our own unique voice has to say is going to connect somewhere, somehow, deeply to another bit of stardust? That maybe our little expression might compel that other bit of stardust to be brave enough to have a voice of their very own.

If you need a creative outlet, then you should have that outlet. If you need to write or collage or doodle or ink or draw or paint, if you need to sew or sculpt or express -- then it is your gift to the world to share this. You don't have to wait until it is refined or perfect or finished. It's the act of sharing that is the inspiration.

SO, friends, go out there and express yourself! I happen to do it in Midori journals with words and collage and stamps and ink.
What is your way?
What is your voice trying to say?

Share!

be a joy junkie

Being an artist is to be of service.
Being an artist is to notice.
Being an artist is to find your own authentic truth, and work to share that.

Because if you really notice, you will fall in love.
The standing people (trees), the rooted people (plants), the two leggeds (us), the four leggeds (lots of other animals), all of these beings, if you just notice them, you will love them.

and to start with loving yourself is a pretty awesome way to begin.

Relax the mind with some journaling

Yesterday I was getting ready for an interview.

So naturally I got out my journal and procrastinated!

But what a fun way to procrastinate. I started with the little watercolor painting (on the right) of flowers. Then I scanned it, and made a repeat pattern. Then printed it out, and added some washi tape, a few words, large and small, a date stamp.

My mind felt at ease and I felt good about the beauty I had created. So this is another very helpful way to get ready for an interview.

Journaling as therapy -- hooray!
and if you want to know how to make a repeat pattern in photoshop, here are the steps:

1. create an image.
2. go to filter, other, offset. Set the pixels to 1/2 size of the original image.
3. fill in the center with more of the pattern.
4. go to edit - define pattern
5. open a new image (make it pretty big so you can see lots of the pattern.)
6. edit - fill with the pattern you made.