Hello darling ❤️ Where are you 😅 I am waiting for you

My friend Julie kept diaries for years as a child and teenager, and I love it when she shares little pieces of them with me. It always makes me wish I’d kept a diary myself. All those ordinary days, conversations and tiny details that seemed completely unimportant at the time, captured somewhere. Maybe it’s time I started adding a little diary entry to my own daily journaling. Do you still have an old diary or journal somewhere? What year is the earliest one from?

Today I found myself journaling at 30,000 feet, travelling between Da Nang and Bangkok, and it got me thinking about all the different ways we journal. I ended up doing some stream-of-consciousness writing, (the lesson is in the classroom) just letting whatever was in my head land on the page, and it made me wonder... Which is more tempting to you: a completely blank page or a page with a prompt already waiting for you? ✈️📖

Diary or journal? And is there actually a difference? A new Bookshelf lesson is waiting in the Lending Library today. We’re looking at what separates recording your life from exploring it, and why most of our notebooks probably do a bit of both. Find the lesson under Lending Library - Between The Lines - Journaling Q & A

This week, in Kindness & Compassion, we’ve been asking: What does tenderness look like for you? Maybe your answer surprised you a little. Perhaps tenderness looked like being softer with yourself. Letting someone help. Saying something kindly. Taking your time. Or just noticing a lovely moment instead of rushing straight past it. However it showed up, I thought we could end the week by giving it somewhere to land. Some prompts for your weekend journal - What felt lovely this week? - When did you feel most like yourself? - What small kindness stayed with you? - What are you glad you made time for? - What would you like a little more of next week? And I’ve written us a little ritual especially for this week. Rainfall of the Heart There is something about rain that feels like a beginning and an ending at the same time. It washes things through. Feeds what has been thirsty. Makes the air feel different afterwards. So this little ritual is for the tender places we’ve noticed this week, but also for everything lovely that has grown around them. You’ll need: - A bowl of water or a window during rain, real or imagined - Optional: a leaf, a flower or a small crystal Sit somewhere comfortable and place your hands over your heart. If it’s raining, listen for a little while. If it isn’t, close your eyes and imagine the sound of summer rain. Say aloud, or quietly to yourself: “I welcome the rain. I let it soak into the dry places. I am open to love, to healing, to release.” Gently dip your fingertips into the water, or hold the little object you’ve chosen. Stay there for a moment and let this be a pause at the end of our week. When you’re ready, write one word that describes how you feel, in your heart or on the page. If you enjoy bringing little rituals into your journaling, there are 10 Writing Rituals waiting for you in the Classroom when you reach Level 3. A little collection to dip into whenever you want to make some space around your words and turn your time on the page into something a little more special.