The "Wonder" Book

Often a new idea emerges from a series of separate events. On New Year's Eve, there was a quote posted on my Facebook page that read:

 

Stark, to the point. No discussion. Serious food for thought...

On New Year's Day, a second quote appeared:

 

Now there was no ignoring it... 

A few weeks previously a wonderful suggestion did the rounds: to take a glass jar and fill it with all the things that you are grateful for during the year ahead, as they occur, and then at the end of the year, open the jar and read about all of the wonderful things that have happened to you.

I had read a great blog post a while back about a man who, instead of writing about his day, sketched it. His daytimer page was filled with tiny images recording the special moments of that day.

All this, combined with an urge to have more connection with every aspect of my life this year, sparked an intense desire to begin keeping a book that would record the wonder that each day brings. I journal extensively and would never want to be without one, but this book would contain those precious moments, those things that mean so much at the time, but are so often forgotten in the busyness of our days.

I began the search for the perfect book. Would it be a daytimer, plain and simple, with a day for each page. Or a book that contained.365 pages? What size would it be? Spiral bound or hard bound? Lined or Unlined? These are individual choices that only you can make. Those who make their own journals may consider making signatures of 8 folded pages for each month, giving in total 32 sides to work on, binding them together at the end of the year in one book. The choices are endless.

After scouring the stores for the perfect daytimer, I have narrowed it down to three books: a regular daytimer, a blank sketchbook and a beautiful little Chinese diary that I already had at home, with fine paper that already has light sketches on it, perfect to doodle with.

So what can you record in your "Wonder" Book? Whatever made your heart sing that day...

• a photo you took of a special sunrise...
• a quote that touched you to the core...
• a sketch of something happened...
• something someone said to you that meant more than they'll ever know...
• a link to a thought-provoking video that shifted your thinking...
• another person's thought that inspired you...
• a piece of something that you want to keep for any reason...
• a line from a book that spoke to you...

It really is endless. Limitless. What can you think of that would make it to this list? I'd love to hear your ideas.

We're not that far into the year that we can't begin this now, with what was wonderful about today. And we can forage back to the last week for something each day that meant something special. That stopped you for a moment, made you think, took your breath away or simply caused you to smile...I'll be sharing my first few "wonders" over the next few days, and would love to post some of yours in the upcoming weeks.

Our lives are so fast these days and I am hearing from so many how much they want to slow down. Maybe this is one way to savor our days, recall magical moments, remind us of what really and truly matters. I wonder...