Comments on: Pages from a quieter place

By: Paula G

Paula G — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:47:28 +0000

It is interesting that I came across your post today. I am just settling back in after 4 days away at a retreat with lots of circle time. At one point we all created our lifelines up to our current age. It is amazing what significant events come and go that we forget about.

While I don’t really scrapbook, I am a photographer (by spirit, not profession) and often wonder - why do I bother taking all these photos? No one sees them but my partner & I most of the time. In the last year I didn’t take nearly as many & I can feel the whole that created.

One year I spent the entire year creating a photo scrapbook where I took at least one picture each day to mark my take on that year. To this day it is an amusing, touching, and wonderful thing to return to.

Thanks for sharing your story…

By: Cynthia Barnard

Cynthia Barnard — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:53:15 +0000

I would like to pass along your blogs to women in my Northfield Mt Hermon class of ‘62 who get together quarterly to write. Thank you for including me on your blog list.

I am new to blogging, but your entry at the New Year is reminiscent of my pilgrimage across Spain in Sept/October. The metaphors were daily very significant: following the signs, letting go, keeping it simple, do I really need it? Feel free to check out my past year in Hawaii, Kenya as a “missionary” and Spain as a “pilgrim”. http://cynthiabarnard.wordpress.com. Forgive me for my slow learning curve on adding pictures and later comments.

I look forward to more of your blog entries.
Cynthia

By: Valerie

Valerie — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:16:27 +0000

I am making peace with not being a regular journal keeper, and accepting that saved email to a few core friends, does do a fine job of keeping a story log. Perhaps your annual scrapbbok ritual will inspire me to orderly go through these saved treasures and edit, cut & paste the gems into those beautiful (but mostly empty,) leather bound or beaded journals in my cupboard!
I renew the pledge to myself to continue my quest of enlarging my committment to the practice and dissemination of gratitude, compassion and forgiveness.
Thank you for all the stories, inspiration and beautiful modeling. You are National Treasures! INTERNATIONAL!

By: Shel

Shel — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:28:49 +0000

Thank you so much for this blog Christina… your words inspire me greatly!

This year is my 40th year, and I have been working on uncovering and embracing me. I have done a lot of healing work over the past decade, and focused last year on taking inventory and understanding who I am now and why. As part of this process I went through my many pictures and finished scrapbooking my backlog of photos.

Currently, I am working on a “summary” scrapbook that captures the joy, the love and the happy experiences of the past 40 years that have shaped me. This very personal scrapbook has images only, no words. Last night I was up way too late surfing the internet for images to capture the places, experiences and feelings that have shaped me that I do not have photos of and it was so delightful! The feeling I experienced as I found yet another image that captured the way I was feeling or the energy of a place was astounding. I am a person who expresses myself best with words, so it is really fun for me move outside of my comfort zone and use only images to express myself.

This process has been so extraordinary for me that I plan to continue it as an annual event and add to this scrapbook annually with a photo collage of each passing year.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts in your beautiful blog.

Shel

By: Lori Wostl

Lori Wostl — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:37:30 +0000

My birthday is in December, three weeks exactly til the end of the year. So each year I begin a notebook process on my birthday and look at what got done, what did not get done, what I thought I wanted, what I want to acknowledge others for and what I want to be acknowledged for. This year I added in forgiveness, who did I need to forgive and who did I need to ask for forgiveness. Then on Christmas, I declare my year complete and begin a collage of my vision for the new year! Looking at the domains in my life (some might call them categories) I invent an affirmation or vision statement for that domain and from that statement I collage my vision of the new year. Besides being a lot of fun, it can stand as a trim tab and keep me on course in, say, June when I have forgotten what I said I want. Blog on!

By: Gwenlyn

Gwenlyn — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 03:00:42 +0000

This year, I created a blog which enriches my journal life. Being snowed in for two weeks permitted me spend hours exploring the blog world. I never imagined I do so and it has been… kinda odd. At times funny, and at times profound. Lots of learning and new discoveries.

I always look forward to your blogs, Christina. Happy New Year and thanks for the work you and Anne do!