From My Journal: Calm and Refresh

I like Sunday. It's a day to calm the mind and refresh the spirit. Church service always does that for me.

If you're not a church goer, you need to work a little harder to achieve the calming and refreshing. You might try reading something uplifting, listening to music that creates tranquility, watching an inspirational movie, or writing in a journal.

My Journal

I keep a journal. I buy blank books whenever I find some with attractive covers. Sometimes I order a few with my book cover art as the cover. I give these away at Facebook parties, and I always keep one for myself. I also order them from WriteWay, my CafePress shop. Those journals look like the picture below. I use these for book notes, random thoughts, raging thoughts, and quotations.

My Journal from my CafePress Shop

I like to dump all my fears and negativity into a journal--kind of like emptying the cookies cached in your computer. It's a way to clear out the dross every day. I also record interesting tidbits and quotations I read. Some may be funny, some are about writing, and many are inspirational.

Here are a trio of quotations in those 3 categories from my journal. Maybe they will give you a smile, a shot of inspiration, or an attitude adjustment.

Funny

It’s important to have a good vocabulary. If I had known the difference between the words antidote and anecdote, one of my good friends would still be living. ~ Comedian John McDowell

A trip is what you take when you can't take any more of what you've been taking. ~ Adeline Ainsworth, travel writer

I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone. ~ Bjarne Stroustrup, Professor of Computer Science & Designer of C++ Programming Language

Writing

Patience is the writer's ultimate virtue. Checks are always a month late, contracts take forever, and overnight success takes at least ten years. ~ Unknown

Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

Why authors write I do not know. As well ask why a hen lays an egg or a cow stands patiently while a farmer burglarizes her. ~ H. L. Mencken

Inspiration

I'm working to change my world, not the world. ~ M. Elizabeth Dick

While the spirit of neighborliness was important on the frontier because neighbors were so few, it is even more important now because our neighbors are so many. ~ Lady Bird Johnson

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing. ~ Abraham Lincoln

Our main business is NOT to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand. ~ Thomas Carlyle

Takeaway Truth

Happy Sunday!