Week 1: Visual + Thoughtful = Meaningful

Over the years I've collected a lot of positive quotes and statements in my journal. I believe that whatever we reinforce in our environment becomes part of us, even if we need to remind ourselves regularly. The internet has become a breeding ground for all kinds of things, and thankfully there's no shortage of positive messages out there to choose from.

You may find this hard to believe, but I'm a bit of a skeptic about some of those relentlessly cheerful things people say to each other to "make things better". Optimistic can so easily tip over into unrealistic and not all of us agree on what's wise counsel and what's saccharine stupidity. You can find your defenses going up pretty fast when good-intentioned advice falls on the wrong side of that line for you.

What's worked best for me is something that reminds me of the wisdom I already know, and then pushes it just a bit farther. And being a visual person, I happen to like my wisdom paired with an interesting image, and thankfully there's no shortage of these on the internet either. Facebook especially has become Meme Central.

A meme, by the way, is defined as "an element of culture or system of behaviour that is passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, especially imitation". In internet terms, that's come to mean an eye-catching photo that's been paired with some deeply meaningful (or humourous) wording and passed from person to person ad infinitum, usually via facebook, twitter, etc.

For example, here's a gem I found recently:

I've spent many years collecting beautiful images and writing meaningful quotes on them, and they work for me. The secret boils down to this: Visual + Thoughtful = Meaningful.

And here's the thing: whatever you put in your journal should be meaningful TO YOU. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, if you read (or hear) some words and they GRAB YOU, put them in your journal. Cut them out if you can, write them in if you can't. Scribble them on a scrap of paper in your pocket, and glue them in your journal later.

These bits of information are telling you something about who you believe yourself to be in your core. I have sometimes put a quote in my journal not knowing exactly why it struck me as important, but when I reread my journal years later, it made perfect sense in the context of what was happening, and might be just the thing I needed to be reminded of in that moment. Trust your spidey senses, trust your intuition.

In that vein, I've prepared a sheet of some of my current favourites ~ some found on the 'net, and some I've created myself. Glue them in your journal. Or not. Whatever your Spidey senses tell you.