Today’s Inspirational Thought: Get Yourself A Journal

Yesterday I stopped off at Barnes & Noble to purchase a book for each of my children. After I visited the kids’ section, I wandered around, and then found myself standing in front of all the leather journals. As a pretty serious blogger now, I decided it was time I carried a blank book around with me so I can diary my thoughts. Blog post ideas can come at the most inopportune moments, and I often need to scribble them down while they are top of mind.

I picked out a beautiful, brown leather journal with string that keeps it in tact. It’s old fashioned, and just the look of it inspires me to write in it. I plan on keeping it with me in my purse so I will have it readily available. It’s my March resolution.

Additionally, journaling is for everyone. In fact, as an example, last night a friend of mine posted a very funny story about her young son and his sleepwalking habit on Facebook. It made me laugh, and I wrote to her that she should write the story down, capture it in words now as it’s happening. It will be perfect ammunition for later in life, perhaps to be incorporated into a short toast at his wedding or his graduation from Yale or Harvard.

Whether you’re someone like me who is constantly looking for ideas to prompt stories for the blogosphere or someone who just wants to release creative energy, a journal is the perfect place for you to house your own ideas, sketches, poetry, stories, lyrics, and thoughts. It’s a great storage space for your general creativity.

Additionally, as an added bonus, writing in a journal on paper pulls you away from the computer screen. Sometimes, you just need to feel your pen moving across the paper. Both small and large ideas come to you, and the freedom of not looking at a blank cursor can be invigorating. Let your ideas fly across the page. Doodle. Draw a self-portrait. Write your name in swirly letters. Concoct a poem. Creative possibilities are endless inside that journal.

Nevertheless, just promise me this: the next time you visit a bookstore or a place like Marshall’s or Office Depot, take a look at the abundance of beautiful journals that are on the shelves. Consider buying one and taking it home. Consider using it, even if it’s for your own personal use and your thoughts will not be shared with readers online in forums. You will grow from it. I’d be thoroughly surprised if you didn’t discover something new about yourself, even if it’s just that your swirly letters look pretty cool.