Angel Whispers

Gratitude

For as long as I can remember I've had a passion for stationary and craft materials. Notebooks, paper, pens, crayons, paints, wool, stamping and die cutting materials seem to accumulate at a rate I can't really justify and I know there is no chance of ever using all those things in several lifetimes never mind the short time left of this one.

Time is always the biggest excuse, but I must admit these things are most pleasing in their pristine condition and sometimes it's difficult to force myself to spoil them. But the time has come as the walrus said.

Over years, months, weeks and days I have attempted to declutter my home and my life as much as I can. Most things I don't have a problem handing over to charity shops or selling for a small profit, but my two weaknesses are sentimental items like letters and cards and the stationary stockpile.

I have made a pact to acquire no more wool, craft materials or stationary, but to aim to use as much as I possibly can. Knitting and paper crafts can be tackled on a daily basis hopefully, but the drawer full of empty notebooks is a much bigger thing to deal with. I already keep notebooks of lists, reading, writing ideas, computer tasks, recipes, things to do etc but what to write in all these others?

I so regret the diaries I threw out from my younger years. All that teenage angst and romantic drama would have made great fodder for writing. Since then my diary input has been sporadic and pretty boring and I haven't kept one recently, feeling uninspired by daily life.

Amongst my empty notebooks I discovered a small journal entitled ' Hello. This is your life speaking, ' subtitled ' You have no idea what you’re doing do you?’ Correct on that one.

Instead of a diary I have determined to use this book as a daily record of positive events, actions, thoughts, ideas and surprises. Complaining and negativity come easily to me, so it will take an effort to ignore lousy weather, frustrating phone calls, annoying people, unexpected disruptions and negative comments as I write on each page. But try it I will. There are always things to be grateful for.

Looking for the positives, even if only small things can make a bad day better, heartache softer and improve our general outlook as we move through the days, regardless of what they throw at us.

Of course I shall still complain and grumble verbally, but only Dennis will be here to witness that and he doesn’t seem to mind. Besides, he's pretty verbal himself at times and frequently sounds to be grumping about something.