Morbid Outlook - Making Time To Remember: The Art Of Journal Keeping

Keeping a journal can be one of the most rewarding things an intelligent mind can do. Not only will it expand your thought processes, but it will also give you a welcomed place to express yourself openly and completely. When no one else will listen recording your feelings can be the only thing that will make you feel alive. When everyone is listening and you just want to retreat and record your deepest darkest secrets your journal will unconditionally be there. If the joys in your life are your own a journal will share them with you.

As a child I was fascinated by the big black artist sketchbooks that my father kept. I would sneak a peak when he wasn’t looking and I always felt inspired by what I found. He used these books to record his creative life. I remember his wizard phase in the 80’s where all he drew were stylized bearded statues of men with organic staffs and crystal balls. Seeing these hundreds of black uniform sketchbooks now make me proud that he will leave a legacy of notes when he is gone. I will be the keeper of his history one day and this is only possible because of his need to get out on paper what is in his head, because of his need to keep a journal.

I myself have kept a journal for as long as I can remember. When I was a child I drew endless pictures of roped swings attached to beautiful trees. I clipped every picture I loved out of any magazine I could find. I even saved fashion articles from the local newspaper that have since deteriorated to yellow crumbled bits. As I got older I began keeping a concert journal. I was in love with music for the first time in my life and I always wanted to remember. I have a record of every band I saw for the first year I lived in New York City. When times turned rough I retreated to my journal and wrote what I’d like not to refer to as poetry. I sketched tortured bodies filled with words. Now I keep several journals at once. I have a travel journal, a recipe journal, an idea sketchbook, and an everyday journal for my words. That last book, my little 6" x 4" black journal, is with me always. It is filled with dense black letters and comforts me in solitary times.

Keeping a journal can be therapeutic. It can help you through tough times, become a memoir, be your confidant, be your creative sounding board, and share in your joys. If you are not fond of the traditional “Dear Diary” formula there are lots of ideas for productive record keeping through journal writing. Here are a few tips, always write the date on your entries, always write your address and phone number on the inside cover because some good hearted soul may return it if you lose it, and remember to make time to be creative inside its pages.

When traveling to a new and exciting location, whether you are going across the state or across the world, keeping a record is one way to ensure you will always remember. Not only will you appreciate it years down the line, but your descendants will as well.

Tape a map inside before your trip begins and trace your journey with a highlighter. Make note of all your stops as well as points of interest. On the opposite page write your hotel information and all the stops you plan to make. On another page add a list of the things youâd like to do.

Carry this with you every step of your journey. You never know when youâll want to or have time to write. Making time to record even one sentence is essential.

Add museum stubs, postcards, and mementoes. Anything can add to the memory you are creating. Press a flower, tuck in a flattened gourmet chocolate wrapper, tape in a club flyer and record your experience, write down interesting inscriptions from old graveyards, add a business cards from a store you absolutely loved, the possibilities are endless.

Sketching can create a wonderful way to reminisce. Even if you’re a hack with paints you can draw a street sign or a unique architectural element. Think small rather than large. A whole sunset may be overwhelming but a flower can be just right. Remember to leave space for the photographs you are taking.

Collect magazine and newspaper articles that inspire you or make your mind race. Photocopy them so they last longer and have a uniform aesthetic. Write your thoughts on them.

Keep notes on your favorite authors, painters, poets, artists, and musicians. If a particular piece of art moves you write about why.

Copy a paragraph from your favorite book, photocopy a page from that great comic book, or write about an inspiring movie.

Ask your grandparents, or an elder relative, what it was like living over the past 100 years. If you’re interested in fashion, take notes on that subject. Cars, technology, home decorating, and cooking are all valid subjects to record. Collect your family’s words of wisdom.

What means more to us than food? It is the fuel that drives our bodies, the glue that binds our families, and the means for an orgasmic experience. What better way to show your love of food than to keep a journal ode to it?

I can’t say it enough, record your family recipes. Someday that special someone will be gone and with them their wonderful home cooking.

When you go to a particularly good restaurant record the meal you consumed. Add a card from the restaurant so that you will remember the address. In big cities businesses tend to open and close at the drop of a hat. If you get into the habit of saving information about the places that you love you will always be able to remember the good times you had there.

Record your own recipe successes and flops. I cannot tell you how many times over the years I have made a fantastic meal and not been able to recreate it because I thought I’d remember. If you like it, write it down.

I use this as a place to record my fashion successes and disasters. I have photographs taken of me so often, I get accused of narcissism. But it is really my desire to document my ever-changing body, face, and style that drives my camera addiction. This journal is for the true fashionista.

Photograph pictures of your favorite shoes, clothes, accessories, etc. and write when and where you bought them. Take a photograph on that first night out in them.

You can place images that inspire you and fashion that excites you inside these journal pages. Sketch your ideas as well.

Write down what you wore on special days and how it made you feel.

Keep a running dialogue on your favorite designers and what they present every season. Go to the stores to look at their clothing and sketch certain style elements.

Many times in my life I have turned to my journal in order to record my hopes, dreams, desires, and anger. It has kept me sane through many hard times. I look back at the books I kept in college, even high school, and I remember instantly what I was feeling the moment I wrote or drew something. Only recording the moment can produce that kind of memory. I encourage everyone to keep a journal because you will never know how valuable it can be until you have a lifetime to read about.