A Swap-bot project gave me more inspiration to write on this subject.
Journals ( aka Diaries ) for me is " talking to myself " via pen and paper. A paper conversation unto myself. After my body dies, then the journal turns from a personal narrative to a piece of history. In journal writing, I know in the back of my mind that after I pass over the veil that someone will read my journal. So with this thought I chose not to write anything negative and had not done so for a long time. This quote: "Thoughts Become Things.... choose the good ones" from Mike Dooley came to mind. Thoughts do become things. So I avoided negativity and wrote only of good or neutral things. But I am me, and like to keep things real. Goddess knows I have had a huge share of negativity in my life. A soul with a body and here, this side of the veil. Experiencing Karma good and bad so I will write of everything from now on.
“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time.” ― Carl Sagan
A current Swap-bot journal project is: April 2017 Journal Swap. From the coordinator hosting the swap, we are to get some kind of journal like a composition book or other journal. Nothing too small. We the participants are to fill it out over a month. I can do whatever I want in it, just make sure it is filled with stories, journal entries, collages, art, recipes, whatever I want. The goal should be to fill a page or a couple of pages every day. Each entry should be something of substance.
This endeavor is a small pleasure for me as I am into writing and working with the trade of printing & publishing.
< < < < < < UPDATE > > > > > >
My choice was to use a composition book and to embellish it. I added labels within the copy, and pasted in front and back endpapers and flyleafs. I found an antique bookplate and put that in. I also made a label from an antique graphic, pasting it on the front cover to hide the pre-printed product label description. The final addition was that I signed my work on the inside back cover and dated it.
****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ******
Addendum:
My history with journals go back 48 years to when I was the age of 10. That is when I was introduced to the trade of Printing & Publishing. I fell in love with the trade after going to see a print shop in my hometown. A few days after that visit I began to make small paper journals during classroom breaks at elementary school. I still have a journal I made during my first year of formal training in print shop operation. I was attending a vocational/technical school. That year was 1975.
Do you keep a journal ?
I like to do the journal swaps also. Last month I joined three journal swaps and got a little carried away. :) How is your journal coming along? -aligurl75
ReplyDeleteI have yet to start the journal. I had bought a standard composition book with the traditional black and white coloured cover. I was going to embellish said cover. Then I remembered that the books are now being made with covers of alternative design. I shall make my way to the store and take a look at those styles before beginning.
DeleteI have my own journal, but not for Swapbot. Well, I'd rather call it a diary. I used to write posts only when I was in a very bad or a very good mood. In the beginning of 2017 I promised myself to change on it, so now I write into my diary every single day. Even a few sentences, but I write down what happened to me on every each days.
ReplyDeleteDorcii from Swapbot
i love the journal swaps. i was in 2 of them. you can learn so much and see some beautiful things in them. how are you doing with yours?
ReplyDeletebluecrayons.
I bought a composition book a long while ago. The cover is of the standard black and white blotchy design. I decided not to use it. I went to the store and purchased one with a blue and black blotchy design instead. It looks alot better to me. I shall embellish it and make it more attractive by adding endpapers, paste-ins, bookplate, and labels. Now to find my digital camera ......
DeleteThis sounds like a fun swap. I might have to check a future one out. I try to journal but normally give up after a few days because I think my life is boring.
ReplyDeleteJulia @ Mini Van Dreams
I’ve been keeping a daily journal for almost a year. I’ve gotten into the habit so much that now it bothers me if I miss a day and I have to catch up. My writing is mostly a recap of the previous day’s events with a dash of thoughts and opinions about things. It’s a look at me, in the moment. I’ve experimented with different looks and embellishments on different books (I’m working on my fourth one now) and it’s all still a work in progress. It’s a helpful bit of reflection now but it doubles as something unique that I can leave for my family once I’m gone. My own father doesn’t speak much about his own life and I wanted that to be different with myself.
ReplyDeleteWorking with Swap-bot has been a fun experience; I’m glad I stumbled across it. I love connecting and exchanging stories or fun ideas with others. It’s truly a community unto itself.
Swap-bot username: MitchR