My Favorite Book

Several years ago I was invited to a bridal shower. The bride-to-be is an artist and a young gal with her whole life ahead of her. The gift I gave her was blank journal and a new set of colorful fine tip pens. I included the intended use of the journal via the following suggestion: Marriage is filled with its ups and downs. Use this journal to write down all your victories as a married couple: your goals achieved together, your dreams realized with one another, your precious moments with your children, the times you laugh together, the times you are filled with great satisfaction, perfect little moments and all the rest that makes you happy and brings a smile to your face. Then, when things seem rocky or difficult, go back and read a page (or many pages) to help put you back on track.

It wasn’t until years later that I began a similar journal for myself. Shopping with my daughter one day, we found this gratitude journal. She originally wanted to repurpose it as an assignment book for school. Ultimately, she chose to keep track of classwork digitally and she passed the book on to me. The cover, oddly was a dull matte grey, so I covered it with a fabric that was bright and fun. My use for the journal is indeed to write the many things I am grateful for. But there is a twist. A large portion of the things that I write haven’t happened yet!

This book is a tool that has resulted from pooling multiple sources and approaches to metaphysics. For me, this book is scripting to open up my energetic valve1. It’s recognizing the good I already experience in my life, and being truly grateful for it2. It’s knowing that thoughts become things3 and with them I can choose the course of my life.

Each page is divided into two sections, with a blank for writing the date. Each time, in place of an actual date, I write “Present”, as if all of those things are already happening. (And once in a while, they are!) The size of each section helps me to keep my entries short. My subject matter runs the entire spectrum, from the minutia of observing small things in nature (the way spring peeper frogs sound on a warm April evening) to the existential (contemplating the ability to recognize signs from the Universe). The common thread in all my entries is that they are full of that belly flip-flop feeling of overwhelming joy…the kind that makes me do a happy dance like Lucy in the parking lot of the Hukilau Cafe.

The result of this book is that when I fall into a funk or something is causing me anxiety, I can sit down and read a few entries. Getting into that place of feeling joy raises the frequency of my energy, opening me up to more of the same. The immediate affect is that I instantly feel better. The long term affect is that I have more “up” days than “down” ones. Ultimately, I now have only a handful of serious knock me on my ass days a year. I’ve come a long way and this tool has become my favorite book ever! It is a cherished possession.

If you’d like to start a journal of your own, here are a few guidelines:

  • Never write an entry in an agitated mood.
  • Always write in the present tense.
  • Keep your entries short, spending less than ten minutes to write.
  • Your subject matter should make you feel joyous!
  • Use lots of descriptors- what you see, what you smell, what you hear or taste or feel, making the moment as real as possible.
  • Don’t forget to include entries of gratitude for things already in your current life.
  • I prefer to fill in pages randomly rather than filling up the book front to back. I read it the same way, flipping through pages and stopping when one grabs my eye.
  • Don’t tie yourself to making an entry every day. Write when you feel moved to. There’s no schedule here!

Have a blast writing your own juicy, joy inducing book!

Sources and inspiration:

  1. Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting Lynn Grabhorn
  2. Colette Baron Reid https://www.colettebaronreid.com/
  3. Thoughts Become Things https://www.tut.com/

Other amazing sources of inspiration and wisdom:

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