Adulthood is overwhelming, It is a spiral of bills that have to be paid, work that needs to be done, and just everything else in between. While I cope well enough to keep the roof over my head, it is overwhelming and it’s tempting to succumb to succumb to darker thoughts. I need to learn to temper them.
So for 2016, I will learn to be a little more grateful. It won’t change the situation I’m in now, it won’t mend a lot of the damage past or dent the debts I have, but it can make me look at the bigger picture.
A good friend and a longtime student of mine gifted me with a Midori MD notebook. At this point in time as a hobbyist letterer and calligrapher, Midori paper intimidates me. It’s on the pricey side and definitely not for idle doodling, but the cream-colored paper is crisp and smooth to the nib’s touch. It took a few weeks to realize that I had to do something with it, or the dust will destroy it. I’ve decided to make it a prayer and gratitude journal. My favorite pen to write with it is a Pilot Cocoon Fine Nib with Sailor Jentle Ink Magenta.
Tita Vicky, who I have the best conversations with, gifted me with a Q&A a day notebook. It contains 365 questions meant to last over five years, so you can easily look back on how far you’ve come along. It’s less intrusive than Facebook Memories, and a lot more intimate.
Questions Answered So Far: “The best part of today?”, “What was the last restaurant you went to”, and “Today was tough because ____”
Will this change me? I can’t say. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. But for the change I want to make, I have to figure out how to get there.
I’ll start by putting it to paper.
What journals and pens are you using for 2016?