CREATIVITY
From Photography To Butterflies
Sharing images and more from July and August 2022 in my bullet journal
July and August are the typical summer months in our small country, the months of the summer school holidays, but also the months in which we can expect to have a couple of hot summer days. This year those hot days were more than only a couple. Week after week it was hot, and one day the temperature ran up to 40 degrees Celsius.
Now you would say since I grew up in South Africa, I should be able to handle the hotter temperatures. Sadly, this is not true. For one, because I have acclimatized many years ago, secondly because the humidity here is higher than where I lived in South Africa, and the combination of heat and high humidity is not one I enjoy. And then there’s the menopause… my internal thermostat is broken, making it incredibly difficult for me to regulate my temperature, especially on hot summer days!
I won’t deny it… I enjoyed the bright light of the summer sun, and the long summer days, but I am ready for autumn and our first fall storm!
Choosing themes for July and August
When I decided on a theme for July, it seemed like a natural thing to choose ‘photography’. Why? Because I had just been to the zoo all by myself for the first time and spent much of it in the butterfly hothouse, taking macro images of those beautiful creatures. It had been too long since I had last given any attention to settings and experimenting with them, and I think the theme photography just felt right.
I might say the same for choosing my theme for August. By then I had been to the zoo several times more and had spent much time on photographing butterflies. I guess they were just so on my mind that I had to dedicate a month to them.
Quotes from July
I love using quotes in my bullet journal, but I don’t do it every month. In July I used several, but in August I used none. My favorites from July are:
A photograph is the pause button of life.
and
Life is like photography. You use the negatives to develop.
I don’t know where these quotes come from, who has said them, as I take them from Pinterest. Those quotes, however, gave me pause. They both hit home for me and made me think, because of the place where I currently am in my life — decluttering everything from my home to my activities.
July and August 2022: Good months
Overall, July and August were good months. I had little low days. In July, they were mostly centered around the date my mom had passed five years ago.
In August, the low days were towards the end of the month. I questioned myself about this, and the only answer I could come up with is that I have my last appointment with the life coach on 6 September. Am I ready to continue on my own?
Additional pages in the journal
Speaking of coaching, I have dedicated the last couple of pages in my first bullet journal to coaching.
Yes, I managed to fit only eight months into my first journal, but this is because I also added other pages than only my weekly planning, mood trackers, and flashback of the month. I have added pages I call ‘Past Purge’, where I jot down memories from my childhood and adult years, as a kind of ‘memory bank’ for my kids. And myself!
But, I have also added pages where I kept track of books I have listened to — the first page was full, which is why I added the one at the top, and will soon add another one in the second book I am using.
On the last pages in this first book, I want to transfer the notes I have made during my coaching sessions, so I can look back on them when needed.
I am practically using my bullet journal for everything that normally would’ve made it into different booklets and loose papers.
Of course, now I am at the end of my first book, and also in the light of decluttering my life, I have asked myself whether it’s sensible to continue with bullet journaling, whether this is not just another thing I am pushing myself to do. The answer was: yes, continue!
For one, I am using my drawing skills and then, when drawing, I don’t have a screen in front of me. Last, but not least, it makes for wonderful afternoons with my daughter and grandsons when she and I sit drawing together!
A shoutout to articles by Monika Sharma and Ravneet Kaur:
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