The Creative Notebook

School is out for the year now.  Today was the last day.  The whole chemistry of my business changes for the summer, and I have my own kids to content with, too.  I helped clean up  after SuperStars day at school today where all the kids got there awards, and had the fun job of  putting away the folding chairs that were put out for the parents who wanted to attend.  Attendence isn’t huge, since it is during the work day, but there were a lot of supportive moms and dads there.

 So, since things are busy and time’s at a premium today, I’ll just toss out a quick prompt for you.  What do you remember most about the infamous “Last Day OF School” before summer break?  Did your school have a tradition?  Was there one year that stood out for you above all the others?   Take a walk down memory lane with me.

Sometimes I feel out of place here in my home town.  The people around me don’t seem to understand my need to create.  They look at my altered books like I’m nuts.  They tell they’d never have time to keep a journal(and I could rant on that one for hours because they have time to spend two hours in front of a tv, don’t they?)  So where are all the creative people hiding?  I read online about meetup and writing groups and journaling groups and I’m so envious.

Maybe if I hung a sign in my my yard, like this fancy Address Plaque, advertising for creative friends I’d find some then?  Probably not.  The neighbors would chalk it up to the eccentric daycare lady who’s always home and will probably some day have 5 cats and talk to her plants in the back yard. 

 It worked well for Emily Carr, and she had a monkey, too.  And a spinning wheel.  And I do love to spin my own fiber for my art.

But that’s o.k.  At least I’ll have a record of my craziness in my journals and art and maybe I’ll teach my cats to journal too.  (If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m allergic to cats.)  But I’d have garden journaling, for the plants.  That’s something.

I was cruising through the “Store that Shall Not be Named” this weekend looking in the kids bedding section for something new for my son.  He’s at this hard age(almost 10) where he’s getting too big for Sponge Bob but still wants a cool theme for his room. 

But I’ll bet you are wondering what his has to do with journaling or creativity, aren’t you?  It bears saying again.  Everything in life, every insignificant event, every piece of discarded trash, bits of conversations all spark creativity and journal writing.

Back to the topic.  I started thinking about my bedroom as a child, and how it changed over the years to reflect where I was developentally.  It’s an exciting progression from infant to childhood to expressing yourself as a teen. 

Find old pictures of your room and paste copies of them in your journals.  Write down everything you can remember about the stages your space went through.  Describe it in words so a complete stranger can see it in their mind’s eye. Sketch it out in your book.    What parts of your room do you see yourself now in?  What parts of you/your childhood room have you left behind for new interest, outgrown, etc. This is an excellent self-exploration exercise.

Cut images out of magazines and take a page in your book to paste in the things you’d have in your dream room.  What do your choices (your pasted images or your actual grown up space) say about you now?  Does any of that childhood “you” still shine through?

Today I want to give you a short and sweet little blip about creative living.  It doesn’t mean you have to make some brilliant masterpiece every day or write five chapters a day of the great American novel.  Living creatively is in everything you do.  When you pick out your clothes in the morning, think creatively and look for combinations you might not have chosen before.

When you fix dinner, set the table with candles and drink your soda from wine glasses.  When you clean up afterward, find a new and creative way to put away the dishes that’s more attractive and to arrange your cookware.

If you are bored with your living room, rearrange the way you have the pictures on the walls or the knick knacks on the table.  At bedtime, spritz a littel something good smelling on your sheets before you settle in.  It’s all these simple, creative touches that make the hustle of our daily life worth it.  Give it a try.  It nourishes your inner artist and your inner child.

One of the best time to do a travel journal is on a family vacation when your children are young.  Not only do you get to journal, you get to create a family keepsake to be cherished for years to come.  It would be a combination journal/scrapbook. 

I’d put in tickets, fliers, receipts, pictures(especially the ones they always take as you enter theme parks and then sell you later).  If you go somewhere big, like Walt Disney world, take lots of pics to include in your journal. 

Make the journal a family affair.  Let each family member write their recollections of the day in it.  Make sure each person writes what their favorite part of the trip was.  If your children are too small to write, either write for them, or let them draw a picture of their favorite vacation activity.  You’ll treasure this travel journal forever.

Let’s get the word out about the benefits of living a creative life and journaling as a tool for health, well-being, sanity keeping, keeping track of your life for yourself and leaving a legacy for future generations.  If you know someone who’s thought about living a more creative live or starting a journal, send them our url.  Our readership is growing and growing, and I’d love to see it soar. 

If not, I’ll be forced to play search engines tricks and start posting things like journal pr0n in my subject lines or Anna Nicole Smith and DNA testing or Paris and Lindsey gossip and I know you don’t want me to do that.  Let’s show those search engines we’re tired of fluff and want real information, real content to help us enhance our creative lives.

In fact, I’ll up the bet just a bit.  Keep your eyes on the blog for a contest with a cool prize just for being a reader and another for referring us a new reader!

Sometimes I use journaling as a part of a meditative practice, especially when I’m trying to look deep inside myself for help with a problem or to make a decision.  I have a couple of cd’s of nature sounds and drum music that I listen to to get into a flow or to meditate, but I thought what about using sound machines?  I know this one is really designed to help you sleep better, but it would work for meditation, too.  I also love those little indoor fountains. 

Imagine this:  a small area in your home set aside just for tapping into your creative side.  Doesn’t have to be a whole room, just  a little corner somewhere.  A small table, a big pillow to sit on, candles on the table, a wonderful pen and blank book, a cd player, sound maching or little indoor fountain to help you calm and center.  Sounds great to me.  And what a wonderful little spot for some spiritual journaling, too.

And while I’ve been thinking about diet and exercise and the journaling of such, water intake is key to weight loss.  I have to admit, I’m not a big water fan and getting in my water is a tough one.  I make note in my journal each time I drink water and how much, and keep a running total.  By the time the day is over I feel like I’m swishing instead of walking!  I’ve found using portable water filters helps improve the taste of my tap water so I don’t have to spend cash on bottled water.  And I’m probably the only person in the country who doesn’t like the taste of bottled water…….but that’s another topic all together and really doesn’t have anything to do with a health journal.