“Our life is a faint tracing on the surface of mystery, like the idle curved tunnels of leaf miners on the face of a leaf. We must somehow take a wider view, look at the whole landscape, really see it, and describe what’s going on here. Then we can at least wail the right question into the swaddling band of darkness, or, if it comes to that, choir the proper praise.”
― Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
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I am re-reading Stephen Levine‘s A Year to Live- how to live this year as if it were your last as a personal exercise schedule to take time to slow down and truly listen to my heart. I have covered Chapters 1-14 in these instalments, and though there are 39 Chapters in total, I am wrapping up this series with a CALL TO ACTION to start a fresh journal today to record your messages from the heart.
Recall:
Part 1: Catching Up with Your Life
Part 4: Dying from the Common Cold
Part 15: Keeping a Journal
1. Journal exercise: START A FRESH JOURNAL TODAY
What does a keeping a journal mean to you?
This blog is a journal for me. It helps me gain perspective by putting my thoughts etc. into this format. It is for me. I also keep messy journals- scattered books- some complete, some sad almost empty ugly books, some gorgeous bound books, some filled with the story of my life, some just anxious to do lists with no insights or wisdom, but a record nonetheless.
I don’t keep journals for others- I do it for me. I sometimes look at those bizarre stacks of paper and wonder why I keep them. Then I will find in some random page a snippet of my life. The pages remind me I exist. Remind me that my memories are real. Remind me I can survive. They are an indication of MY HEART BEAT.
Journals are part of my creative expression, and though sometimes stupidly embarrassing as the stacks tower above me- I love them.
My journal is a lifeboat in this very strange sea that is my life.
2. Capture chapter highlights:
3. Explore another source regarding listening to the messages from the heart:
I choose a section from Chapter 15: Jennifer in Stephen Levine‘s A Year to Live as it reflects the magic of our heart messages, of journaling, of our individual journeys.
And offering me her shoulder she whispered,
When a thousand people look at the moon
there are a thousand moons.
4. Today’s angel card(s):
