Growth is coming
I’ve had trees and buds and blossoms on my mind a lot this week. I suppose most of the world is sitting up to take notice of nature’s cues as spring marches toward us. But, since I live in Southern California, the differences between the seasons outside are much more subtle and apparently I was making art about buds and new growth last fall.
I’ve grown increasingly tuned into my internal seasons. I feel like this image is related to Friday’s post in a way that is both obvious and subtle. It’s more about holding on and less about letting go. It’s more about hope and less about acceptance. Both are important processes in growth.
Here’s a final little image I found in my journals this weekend. I have to say that I did not feel this way about the world when I woke up this morning. But, I’m grateful for my journal because it reminds me of the wide range (and transitory, temporary nature) of my feelings. Yes, my mood was a bit foul this morning, but sometimes I do wake up feeling joyful!
What about you? Do you keep a journal, or do you wish you did? Have you gained emotional insight from your journals or sketchbooks? Please share!
No related posts.
Keep several journals and sketchbooks but I don’t write daily in them. I learn a lot from it because while I’m writing I have the time to think things through one more time. This gives me a stronger memory of what I’m experiencing/thinking at that particular moment and often I look back on subjects when a new string of thoughts follow.
There is nothing wrong with waking up in a foul mood. You start working and than you notice/experience that the sun starts shining inside yourself. For me, this is a delightful miracle each time it happens.
Comment by Elizabeth — 16 March 2009 @ 10:12 am
@Elizabeth: I almost love revisiting old journals as much as I enjoy writing in them in the first place. It’s so wonderful to trace threads of thought through a lifetime of psyche.
Thank you for your positive spin on my morning’s foul mood. I’m going to get to work and wait for the miracle to happen. Thanks!
Comment by Mal — 16 March 2009 @ 10:15 am
I wish I kept journals and/or sketchbooks. I need to learn to draw a little better and to find the discipline to do this more often.
Comment by upstatelisa — 16 March 2009 @ 12:35 pm
@Lisa: Believe it or not, I actually learned to draw IN my journals. Most of this was predicated on one simple concept: giving myself permission to suck. As soon as I believed it was okay to draw something that looked totally ridiculous, I started drawing things that didn’t look totally ridiculous. (Some still did, but over time they have gotten better.) I still can’t perfectly convey a realistic scene or portrait, but I can get across the message of my own emotional landscape on most days.
With your eye for color and layout, I’d think you’d be a natural at visual journaling, honestly…
Comment by Mal — 16 March 2009 @ 12:44 pm