The Blank Page

Today I sat under a palm tree listening to the cicadas filling the summer air with those reassuring sounds of summer as I contemplated what it means for me to stare into my journal of at the start of each day. Why do I do it and what does it bring?

Each morning I start my ritual: coffee beside me, pen in hand and I face the blank sheet of paper that seems to ask me what lurks in my mind and soul. Each day is new. Each day is a surprise as I capture my dreams, my worries and as I organize my thoughts or goals for the day. Often I stare blankly onto the page as my mind reaches into the void with nothing to say or to download. This is when my daily journaling gets interesting. So I sit and wait for a thought to emerge with calm anticipation. Eventually ideas tumble out from some mysterious regions of my unconscious mind. Often new and inciteful solutions arise as if from a wiser version of myself. Sometimes what erupts is a suppressed thought or clarity that finally comes up for air. This ritual of journaling allows me to get through the mundane and finally reach the shimmering nuggets of truth that beg to be discovered…if only I can be quiet and patient long enough to hear the tiny voice that seeks to be heard. Marianne