Capturing Thoughts

I love words. I love the taste of language.

“Young man, don’t ever waste marinated ice cubes.”

This cheerfully said to the waiter by a man at the table next to us while deftly removing his almost empty glass back off the clearing tray.

We laughed—inconspicuously, of course—and determined to remember that bit of sage advice.

How do you capture your thoughts?

When you hear something you want to remember, a brilliant idea shamelessly flings itself at you, you find an exceptional quote, or you read a particular turn of phrase that plucks at your heart strings, how do you capture it?

I use a moleskine—it’s with me wherever I go.

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
               – Laurie Buchanan

www.HolEssence.com.

© 2010 Laurie Buchanan, All Rights Reserved

18 thoughts on “Capturing Thoughts

  1. I too use a notebook but I don’t think it is a moleskin… just an ordinary hardcover notebook. Right now I have a small one that I can carry in my purse. Never know when a gem is going be shining in my path:)

  2. Good Morning Laurie,
    Where am I???? Everything here looks so different. It’s been too long since we have visited.
    I love words too. I often have a little spiral notebook in my purse just for when those gems fall into my lap.
    I buy poem books and quote books too just in case some kind of wisdoms jumps out to grab me.
    Happy Halloween,
    I hope you are doing well and are prepared for fall and the changing weather.

    http://%5Burl ak.imgag.com/imgag/product/preview/flash/bws8Shell.swf?ihost=http://ak.imgag.com/imgag&brandldrPath=/product/full/el/&cardNum=/product/full/ap/3125133/graphic1]ak.imgag.com/imgag/product/preview/flash/bws8Shell.swf?ihost=http://ak.imgag.com/imgag&brandldrPath=/product/full/el/&cardNum=/product/full/ap/3125133/graphic1[/url]

    Have a really frightfull Halloween!!
    Stay inspited.
    ~Jean
    http://www.jeanhartartwork.com

    • Jean – I’m so glad you popped in. I recently read in your newsletter that you and your husband just celebrated your 34th wedding anniversary – CONGRATULATIONS! It’s handy to have a little something to write great stuff down in, isn’t it! As an artist, do you draw in yours too?

      I tried following what I thought was a link you put in, and when that didn’t work, I think it’s coding for a graphic of some kind. It’s not showing for me – I hope that others can view it.

  3. Hi, Laurie! Isn’t it wonderful when you hear a phrase like that? Random wisdom from the Universe? I don’t usually write it down. Can only hope it appears, intact, when the blog-writing time begins.

    I love the taste of language, too. It’s so fulfilling. And we must never, ever, waste marinated ice cubes!

    • Kathy – I’ve sure been thinking of you up there in WINDY Wonderland. Gosh amighty, girl! I’m glad you haven’t pulled a Mary Poppins and become airborne with an umbrella!

      You mean to say that you RELY ON YOUR MEMORY? I admire you! If I don’t write it down, it simply doesn’t exist.

      language, Language, LANGUAGE — ya gotta love it!

  4. Hi, Laurie — if I happen to have my backpack with me (I never carry a purse; I either have my money and license in a pocket or I carry a black leather backpack) I will pull out anything that I can write on and scribble it down. If I am with Jonathan, I just ask him to remember it since the guy has a photographic memory for both words and sight. He sings songs NO ONE STILL LIVING has ever heard before. I so agree with you: there are oodles of jewels to be collected and we never know when one is going to be on our path.

    • Barbara – I love that you’re a backpack kinda gal! I use a very streamlined one when I bicycle to/from HolEssence, but otherwise I carry a small purse. Oh, you’re fortunate to have Jonathan as a memory bank. And the fact that he sings, too. Well, you’ve just got it made.

      Len’s not a memory bank for me, but he’s a darned terrific GPS system! (If he sang out loud, well) …

  5. A small notebook for me – I could never, ever rely on my memory like Kathy! Or if it’s a great quote from a book, I write it down in a bigger notebook or here in a lovely folder labeled “Book Notes.”

    When a writer captures an essence, a feeling or spirit, or shares a bit of wisdom – I am thankful that they have put into words what I can’t! Words, words, words!!!

    I also have favorite words to speak out loud because I like the way they feel in my mouth – that’s a whole other story! 🙂

    • Cindy Lou words, Words, WORDS! Aren’t they wonderful? Especially when someone has an uncanny way of wordsmithing them in precisely the way you feel.

      I have a few favorite speak-out-loud words too. Knowing that we bring about more of the vibration we give off, I frequently say:
      “I am healthy, strong, and vital – body, mind, and spirit.”
      “Divine Love provides all of my wants and needs.”
      “I lovingly forgive and release everything in the past.”
      “I choose to fill my word with joy.”

      And Kathy Drue once wrote an affirmation that I’ve cabbaged onto. She wrote: “I am whole, I am home, I am one with the universe.” I LOVE THAT!

  6. I just got back from exploring exactly what a ‘moleskine’ was seeing as how I’d never heard of one…..oh my! They remind me those black & white marbled composition notebooks I used to us in junior high only way more sophisticated and much more fun in their variety….must look into this one some more. And talk about fun words to say – moleskine is a good one!

      • Kathy– If I remember the timing correctly, it was about the time that you had first begun taking Yoga instruction in the early summer. When I read what you wrote I whipped out my moleskine and captured it–definitely a keeper!

    • Cindy Lou – I agree with your observation about the moleskine’s similarity to the black/white marbled composition notebooks — only I don’t think mine had an elastic binder to hold it shut, or a built-in ribbon to use as a marker. You’re right – “moleskine” is a fun word!

  7. I usually get struck Random Universal Wisdom about two or three times a day, as a rule it has something to do with my immediate safety and is pertinent only to me. I keep that to myself, for instance who wants to know that I should not walk under killer pecan trees in a high wind? That was yesterday. Like Barbara, I don’t carry a purse, but carry my backpack when I take more than three things. There are always a couple of note books, a fistful of pens and pencils and a paperback book I’ve never bothered to finish tucked inside. I make notes when I am on-site discussing a garden plan, attending to a Master Gardener query, or taking directions. But for the most part, I’ll turn an idea over once or twice and if it’s worth keeping, I’ll throw it into the bucket I call my brain. Sometimes they survive and sometimes not, with me it’s a crapshoot. If it’s good it’ll stay good, if not, it’ll compost.

    • Oh my gosh, Sandi – I’m laughing at your description of what doesn’t stick — compost. That’s a perfect description for things that dissolve in my head. Now you’ve got me curious as to the paperback YOU have never finished that you carry in your backpack. YOU’RE a book addict.

  8. Pingback: The Writers’ Institute UW-Madison 2011 « Speaking from the Heart

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