“But how could you live and have no story to tell?” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky
It’s here!!! The next post in our Journal Prompts series is a list of ideas compiled in the spirit of iced tea season and all that comes with it: light and possibility, slices of lemon, the green of growing things, crashing ocean waves, birdsong in the trees outside, and of course, sunshine. There is so much going on in my life right now, and there are few feelings as good as sitting down to make sense of it all on paper.
When next you find yourself with a few minutes to spare, go sprawl on your bed and open your moleskin journal and turn to a fresh page. Take a deep breath, notice the window cracked open and the feeling of that summer breeze on your skin, listen to the sounds of the quiet, and feel the way the air feels in your lungs. When you’re ready, let your messy and wonderful imaginings loose.
- Summer feels like the easiest season to be cheerful: blue skies, fresh air, freedom, and fun memories on the horizon. As you look around you right now at all the blessings in your life, make a list of “summer things” that make you smile.
- If you haven’t already, make a vision board for your summer. Search Pinterest for aesthetic pictures of your goals, your favorite colors, and snapshots of moments. Print them out and arrange them in your journal to set the mood of the summer.
- Describe your perfect vacation in exhausting detail. Dream up the capsule wardrobe you bring along, the people you meet on your flight, how you spend the travel time, the people you encounter at your destination, the places you see, the feelings you have in those locations.
- A few weeks ago, I whipped up a list of fifty reasons to be excited about the season ahead. You don’t have to write up fifty, necessarily, but make a spread in your journal dedicated to all the things you’re looking forward to right now — tiny things or life changing ones, it doesn’t matter.
- Turning to a new page, write down all of the lyrics to your favorite summer song of the moment. Right now my favorite one is “Have It All” by Jason Mraz (which is a truly cheerful song to set the tone for your morning, trust me).
- Everyone is struggling with something. The easiest way to figure out what to do is to step back and get a fresh perspective on the situation. What advice would you offer to someone who is going through a challenge like the one you’re facing now?
- You’ve probably walk past dozens of brilliant ideas every day — when you take a shower and let your mind roam, when you’re driving, when you wash dishes — so right after you finish doing one of those tasks, sit down and write for four or five pages, stream-of-consciousness style, until all those ideas come bubbling up to the front of your mind again.
- Summer is the time for growth. What does the idea version of yourself know that you don’t? What skills would you like to learn, or languages? Have you always wanted to play a musical instrument or learn to dance? Compile a list of things you have always wanted to learn.
- What are the things you can’t stop thinking about? Is it a person, a compliment someone gave you, a memory, a tv show? Spend a few minutes writing about it — write about what you love, about the things that take up the most space in your head.
- Warsan Shire once said to “document the moments you feel most in love with yourself — what you’re wearing, who you’re around, what you’re doing. Recreate and repeat.” With that quote floating around in your mind, describe your ideal day. What are you wearing? What space are you in — a coffee shop, a garden, a pretty sunlit office? What color are the walls? What do you eat? Do you exercise? Who is around you? What is your schedule like?
Maybe it’s the blue sky or that summer aesthetic or the feeling of waking up at dawn and having immense possibility for the day ahead, but lately I am feeling so encouraged to live fully in every minute of the day. Days have been flying by (how is it June, already?!) The wonderful thing about journaling is that it forces you to slow down and reflect, to capture moments and paint them with words, to reframe your mindset about anything you’re facing right now. The heavier the pages become, the lighter you feel.
Go write some magic,
<3 Olivia Grace
