On the Virtue of Keeping a Notebook
One of my most prized possessions is a beat up old beige journal. I have at least a half-a-dozen others that are virtually indistinguishable from this one – random thoughts and quotes scratched down on about a third of the pages before it got tossed aside and forgotten about. But none of those other ones matter all that much. This one is different. Why? Because, despite the fact that the handwriting is eerily similar to my own, I didn’t write these random thoughts and quotes. I was an eleven year old kid when my dad was scratching down the contents of this notebook. The first entry is from 4:30 a.m. on November 22, 1983.
Most of you that read this (if there are any of you!) know that my dad died in the spring of 1999. It’s hard to believe that it has been that long. I still think about him and miss him all the time. That’s one of the reasons I love this notebook. It’s a little piece of him that I get to keep with me. And it’s a fascinating window into a complex soul (from one who wasn’t particularly well known for opening such windows).
The opening entry struck me again a couple of days ago when I picked up the journal for the first time in a long time. It is probably what inspired me to start most of the other journals I’ve never managed to stick with through the years, but, despite the fact that I rarely ever get much further into a notebook than my dad got into his, I think this entry is worth passing along here anyway. The words come out of another family treasure, the Bible that belonged to the patron saint of my mother’s side of the family, my great-grandmother Grace. Hers was a Bible and then some – one of those copies of the Good Book that had some other devotional and theological material included in the back. Somewhere in that section of added wisdom my dad, at 4:30 a.m. on 11/22/83, found and recorded these words about the virtue of keeping a notebook:
"If I were twenty-one again I would spend a little time every day in the realm of the beautiful. Luther always placed a flower on his desk before he began to write. His stormy nature needed the soothing influence of beauty’s touch. We all need it. A beautiful poem, a sweet song, a lovely picture, a rare literary gem, – the touch of the beautiful – once a day. The nearest practical approach to this for the average person is a well-ordered notebook, carefully conned and reviewed. Most great men have kept and carried a notebook. The things which we “note” are the things which stay with us….
“… Crowd your brain with gems. Fill your soul with the beauty of a thousand lovely thoughts… and do it while you’re young, when passing moments are yours – “while the evil days come not” – when the duties and responsibilities of life press so thick and hard that there does not seem to be a moment for soul culture or spiritual brooding.
“And this shall be the secret law of your heart in the collection and compilation of your literary “bric-a-brac” – whatever touches you – whatever appeals to you – whatever inspires you – whatever seems to you to be “lovely” – whatever sets your soul on fire – this must be treasured in your notebook."
Even (or perhaps especially!) in this age when we all have so many technological devices that promise to save us valuable time, I’m sure that most of us already feel like there’s not much time for soul culture or spiritual brooding, but that’s time we all yearn for and, I think, genuinely need. So go buy yourself a cheap blank book and start writing. Even if you only write in a third of it, the things you note will be the things that stay with you. And just maybe those things will stay with those who love you even when you’re gone.
Most of you that read this (if there are any of you!) know that my dad died in the spring of 1999. It’s hard to believe that it has been that long. I still think about him and miss him all the time. That’s one of the reasons I love this notebook. It’s a little piece of him that I get to keep with me. And it’s a fascinating window into a complex soul (from one who wasn’t particularly well known for opening such windows).
The opening entry struck me again a couple of days ago when I picked up the journal for the first time in a long time. It is probably what inspired me to start most of the other journals I’ve never managed to stick with through the years, but, despite the fact that I rarely ever get much further into a notebook than my dad got into his, I think this entry is worth passing along here anyway. The words come out of another family treasure, the Bible that belonged to the patron saint of my mother’s side of the family, my great-grandmother Grace. Hers was a Bible and then some – one of those copies of the Good Book that had some other devotional and theological material included in the back. Somewhere in that section of added wisdom my dad, at 4:30 a.m. on 11/22/83, found and recorded these words about the virtue of keeping a notebook:
"If I were twenty-one again I would spend a little time every day in the realm of the beautiful. Luther always placed a flower on his desk before he began to write. His stormy nature needed the soothing influence of beauty’s touch. We all need it. A beautiful poem, a sweet song, a lovely picture, a rare literary gem, – the touch of the beautiful – once a day. The nearest practical approach to this for the average person is a well-ordered notebook, carefully conned and reviewed. Most great men have kept and carried a notebook. The things which we “note” are the things which stay with us….
“… Crowd your brain with gems. Fill your soul with the beauty of a thousand lovely thoughts… and do it while you’re young, when passing moments are yours – “while the evil days come not” – when the duties and responsibilities of life press so thick and hard that there does not seem to be a moment for soul culture or spiritual brooding.
“And this shall be the secret law of your heart in the collection and compilation of your literary “bric-a-brac” – whatever touches you – whatever appeals to you – whatever inspires you – whatever seems to you to be “lovely” – whatever sets your soul on fire – this must be treasured in your notebook."
Even (or perhaps especially!) in this age when we all have so many technological devices that promise to save us valuable time, I’m sure that most of us already feel like there’s not much time for soul culture or spiritual brooding, but that’s time we all yearn for and, I think, genuinely need. So go buy yourself a cheap blank book and start writing. Even if you only write in a third of it, the things you note will be the things that stay with you. And just maybe those things will stay with those who love you even when you’re gone.
what a treasure to have something like that from your dad. i've been asking my dad to write a little on his life and his experiences. i hope he'll do so. i'd love to read such a "notebook" and pass it on...
Posted by
Sam |
12:53 PM