This is a tribute to you for giving me a dose of inspiration.

Thanks for your gifts of beautiful blank journals to encourage me to keep writing. I’m telling the story of how your gifts helped me to harness mine:

It was Christmas 2017. We were working at our old building site of the children’s treatment centre. It was our last year there because we were moving into a new state of the art building within a few months. As ghetto as the building was, our team made it the best of times.

It was our first Secret Santa since I’ve ever worked there. We were all getting emotional because it was our last Christmas as a small group before amalgamating into an even more corporate structure.

We wanted to make this one different.

My gift was already on my desk waiting for me when I got there in the morning. I took out the pretty, off-white journal from the bag. It had a pretty image of a bare tree that had hints of snow on the edges of some of the lower branches.

I’ve never had a journal with regular sized pages. So much space to work with. Oooh so pretty. It goes well with the coffee card and scented candle. So me.

I knew it was you as soon as I entered the second-floor office. When you saw me and looked away but you were smiling with your eyes.

Endless Creation

The feeling of endless creation of whatever I want, whenever I want, is what I feel every time I see journals, pads of paper, pens, markers, post-its, white-boards, and so on.

It’s exciting to open the book to a blank page! Every day. I write the date and go! Cluster, list, paragraph, prose…whatever goes.

It’s exercise for the mind and soul.

Which is what I hope to provide to others when I pay forward the gift of journals.

A blank canvas of space waiting to be used in any way purposeful. All together with a few good pens (YES, it matters)! Powerful ways to effortlessly use your mind to coordinate whatever moves you.

That same week, I got another surprise. When I saw you standing there, I was confused, “For me?”, I thought when you handed me a gift of appreciation with a message in a card that read, “Thank you so much for going above and beyond. You were a life line for me when I felt like I was drowning. Your support and efforts in his success is truly appreciated. Happy Holidays”.

That message kept finding it’s way into my hands every time I opened my journal (where I kept the envelope). It confirmed for me every time that I was still on the right path as a Communicative Disorders Assistant or Speech-Language Assistant but now realizing a little bit more. It inspires me to document the formula of my approach and share the handouts of information.

Years later, we reunite to where I can do therapy up close and personal (before Covid). You gifted me a beautiful black journal with an image of a mom and baby elephant with cool trunk designs. Who doesn’t love elephants?!?

This one was there for me during the beginning of the pandemic and throughout. It holds research, quarantine recipes, reminders to self, homeschool scribbles, numerology, prose, doodles, ripped pages, content brainstorm, emotions, mantras/affirmations, lists, things I did and how I felt.

Empowerment

Empowerment is what I love to teach because when we teach families how to interpret their child’s interactions with one another, the ultimate goal – no matter what – is to get the best back and forth with everyone happy. Finding ways to advocate that is part of the journey. These are all the teaching moments.

I continue to write in my Book of Inspiration where I’ve committed to a writing routine that keeps me going. Hyping myself to share because it IS about the back and forth that makes connections so real and encouraging.

No matter what the connection is, appreciate the value. It’s special when explored.

Exploring feeds curiosity, expanding our minds when ready to transform. When we help transform each other, we serve so much more! Dump your heart and soul into it. Journals shouldn’t be left ignored!

Be open to the tools of wisdom to keep heightening, expanding, growing, wondering, imagining, creating, and inspiring!

From you to me, now from me to you, with lots of gratitude. Inspired by all writers who need readers, and by readers who need writers. This is a good cycle to be in.