What's on your list?
Journal Prompt - Your town or city
In the know -- day three!
Whenever I post a prompt about the places you live, your responses are always so fun and filled with pride about the neat things your cities and towns have to offer. I love learning about the places you call home in the ways only you can describe them. And I love thinking about my city in much the same way.
I live in Guelph, Ontario, which is just about an hour west of Toronto. Three things I know about Guelph:
(1) Residents of Guelph are known as Guelphites. Yep, it's true.
(2) The driving here is slow and super polite. In my experience, the majority of Guelphites drive at or slightly below the speed limit and I have personally seen mass hesitation at four-way stops because each of the four head cars is too polite to go first. (I'm assuming that last part, but correctly, I think.)
(3) In the north of the city, there's a lovely little lake called Guelph Lake. It's man-made, motorboat-free, and home to a conservation area and the Hillside music festival.
How about you? What three things do you know about your city or town?
Journal Prompt - Someone you know
It's day two of our week "in the know."
One of the someones I adore is my husband. Three lovely little things I know about him:
(1) His patience is nearly infinite -- like really quite something to behold. I'll be hopping up and down beside him, needing so badly for something to be finished or figured out and he will quietly and deliberately keep working away until whatever it is reaches its proper conclusion.
(2) His teaching style, both with his students and our daughters, is to guide rather to tell, so that they can learn and discover for themselves.
(3) The only place he loses his temper is in the car. It's pretty funny. The whole family teases him about it.
How about you? What three things do you know about someone you adore?
Journal Prompt - In the know
This week is all about the things we know. (Because I've always believed that we know more than we realize.)
I was only going to write one prompt on the subject, but as soon as I did, a whole bunch of variations came to mind as well. So, I've decided to post one "In the Know" prompt every day this week, starting with this one:
Three things you know about yourself.
What's on your list?
Journal Prompt - Seeing, hearing, feeling
I love prompts about noticing -- because there's so much I miss when I'm not paying attention. I also love prompts with gentle juxtapositions -- like looking outside, then inside in the moment.
Right now, I see snow -- lots of it, I hear machines -- the fan on my computer, traffic outside, a rumbly furnace, and I feel ... hmm, honestly, I feel hopeful in this moment. Which I'm glad I noticed.
How about you? If you stop right now, just for moment, what do you notice?
Journal Prompt - A job well done
Thought I'd start the week on a high note with a quick and colourful opportunity to pat yourself on the back for a job well done. What are your triumphs, big and small? What three things did you do well today?
Journal Prompt - Projects to start and finish
I can't decide which is better, the thrill of starting a new project or the satisfaction of finishing an old one. I'm looking forward to finishing the planning for an upcoming fundraiser at my youngest daughter's school. It ends with a huge pasta dinner and a super-fun evening at the school. I can't wait to start my first 5-day, real-time journal session next week on Patreon. I'm a little nervous about trying something new, but mostly excited to see how it goes!
What are you up to these days? Which projects are you excited to start and finish?
Journal Prompt - A life well-lived
This is one of my favourite prompts. On the surface, it looks like a big-picture prompt, but deeper down, it has reverberations you can feel on even the most ordinary days.
The last time I journaled this prompt, more than a year ago, my three things were: making a positive contribution, nurturing and celebrating loving relationships, and never stop learning. They haven't changed in the interim, but writing them again today gives me a renewed sense of purpose. It reminds me that I can experience everyday events in ways that matter to me -- like greeting a stranger with a smile, taking time to share memorable moments with my daughters, or noticing something about my world that I hadn't noticed before. It reminds me that each day has a part to play in a well-lived life.
How about you? What's on your list?
Journal Prompt - Moments of balance
Today's prompt is a bit of a follow-up from Wednesday's prompt, which was, one thing you've found hard to find. The challenge of finding balance was a common theme in the comments on Instagram. It got me thinking about balance in the moment versus balance as a final destination, mostly because you can capture those individual moments of balance in your journal. Those you can work with.
For me, so much of journaling is about noticing the little things that work well or make my day better (and their opposites!), and then, little by little and where possible, making the good things a part of my life. Maybe balance begins there, too? As a collection of moments to be noticed, enjoyed and, if all goes well, repeated. What do you think?
Was there a moment this week when you noticed a sense of balance?
Journal Prompt - Finders keepers
One thing I've found surprisingly hard to find is ... a suitable background for my photos. Even as I write this, it seems like such a trivial matter, but I've spent a huge amount of time trying to get this one small thing right and I'm still not there.
This week, for example, if you had stopped by for a visit, you would have found me ironing sheets of tissue paper, trying to get the folds out. A fool's errand, I tell you. Those folds are there to stay. So, for now, it's back to the drawing board.
How about you? What have you found hard to find?