More good things

Good things

What's on your list?

Perspective

So, there I was last week, humming along, feeling like things were okay, thinking that everything was mostly under control. I may have even had a few daring moments of, "Oh yeah, I've got this." (You know, in reference to life and stuff.)

Then someone I admire offered a bit of unexpected, unsolicited advice. It caught me completely off guard and within about three minutes, I was second guessing my entire existence.

Since then, as the sting gradually fades, I've been thinking about how often I turn to journal writing as a way to sort through my insecurities. There is a helpful distance to be found in the act of turning worries into words and placing them on the page. Once there, I can contemplate them almost from a third person's point of view. I can walk away for awhile if I like. (They'll keep.) When I'm ready, I can think about how to move forward, from a place of perspective. I can get back to humming along with life (and stuff).

Lightning round questions for you

I'm right in the middle of work on the next five journal pages. They'll be available via instant download, just like the last five. To pass the time until the new batch of pages is ready, how about a quick lightning round?

futuristic or prehistoric? spinning round and round or jumping up and down? coat check or valet parking? cliff or canyon? footprint in the sand or pawprint in the snow? missing a deadline or forgetting a birthday? carrot cake or banana cream pie?

Bridging the gap

When my daughters were quite young, a wonderful teacher once suggested that I could try to lessen any apprehension they might feel about spending the day at school by bridging the gap between drop-off and pick-up. I could remind them that even though we'd be apart while they were at school, we'd be together again soon.

Such a simple thing, common sense really, but it made such a difference that I find myself doing it all the time now, making a conscious effort to fill the void between now and later. Instead of ending conversations with "Goodbye," I'm much more likely to say, "See you tonight," or "See you next Tuesday," or even, "Talk to you soon." My friends and family may not even notice it, but I love the sense of continuity that a few words can evoke.

It occurred to me today that journaling is another excellent bridge for life's gaps. In addition to being a boundless repository for past and current events, journaling offers a remarkable opportunity for forward thinking. Writing about my plans, the future I envision, and always reminding myself that there are successes, big and small, just a few steps ahead, are my ways of using journaling to bridge the gap.

New pages in progress

Thought I'd share one of the prompts from a new set of pages in the works:

One place I love to visit in spring: the arboretum on campus at our local university. There are always brand new baby ducks taking dips with their parents in the vernal pool that forms after the spring thaw.

One thing I love to eat in summer: anything fresh off the barbecue!

One thing I love to do in fall: set new goals. The beginning of the new school year always feels like a great opportunity to make grand plans.

One sight I love to see in winter: snow-covered cityscapes.

How about you?

Writing it down

I've recently taken up regular exercise and, wow, do I have a long way to go before I can make any claims about my general fitness. At about the halfway point this morning, I was seeing stars.

It's no surprise, I guess, that my prompt writing and journaling today have veered toward themes of perseverance and goal setting. There's something powerful about turning goals (and setbacks) into words on a page, isn't there? Goals can be whittled down to their essentials, then divided into manageable, achievable steps. Possibly even more importantly, setbacks become part of the story rather than the end of the story.