Post by Berry McPaper-cuts on Mar 18, 2020 14:25:20 GMT
I have moved to journaling rather than scrapbooking so when I got this email my first thought was - not for me. When I reflected I thought this could be a legacy journal for the family to share in the future whatever happens to us in the next months. I shall adapt her ideas to suit my style of crafting. Thought some of you other forum crafters with some time on your hands might be interested.
It seems that every email I’m getting and every social media post I’m seeing is about the coronavirus — and for good reason. The last thing I want to do is add more noise. I’m not going to address anything from a medical or political perspective. Those aren’t my areas of expertise and heaven knows there is more than enough information out there, and I’m sure you’re doing your research. What I DO feel is my place to speak up about is regarding the personal documentation that each of us can do right now.
Obviously we don’t HAVE to document about what’s going on in the world. But I would invite you to consider that doing so can provide you with a greater ability to make sense of what’s happening. I am here to testify that documenting can provide healing, and it is proven to be therapeutic. Journaling, picture taking, video making, scrapbooking … whatEVER kind of documenting you prefer, please consider doing SOMEthing during this time in the world when we’re all being affected by the pandemic.
I have a desire to serve you during this tumultuous time and that’s what this email is about. There are a few things worth sharing:
I want to share a few thoughts on how we might want to consider FRAMING the documenting we do. To be clear, I’m not encouraging anyone to make light of what’s going on — this is an incredibly traumatic experience for so many people right now — nor am I encouraging anyone to sugar-coat the situation. But I forever + always will encourage you to frame your story with intention … and cultivating a spirit of gratitude will absolutely serve every one of us right now.
Russell M. Nelson said it best: “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”
The circumstance of what is happening literally worldwide right now CAN bring about feelings of worry, fear, despair, frustration, and hopelessness. It is natural to have these feelings. And it’s important to feel our feelings. It’s also our great privilege and opportunity to choose WHAT we focus on and HOW we focus our attention and energy right now.
I want to focus on the blessings that are abundant. I want to focus on how I might be able to serve those around me and in my circle of influence — especially my family. I want to focus on how we will continue teaching our kids about physical and spiritual self-reliance. I want to focus on how to make the most of a time when so much is shut down. I want to focus on meaningful ways to use this time to feel more connected to myself, my loved ones, and God.
I encourage you to take pictures, grab screenshots, and write, write, write. No one can write about YOUR perspective on this except for you. This is YOUR opportunity to articulate how you are personally affected by something that is known by the entire planet.
Keep it real. Write from your heart. Be honest. Be mindful about the way you choose to FRAME your story. Consider how your documentation is an opportunity to not only leave a piece of your heart on record, but an opportunity to leave a part of your legacy. You get to share with your children and future posterity how challenging this is and ALSO recognize the blessings you are able to see in the circumstance.
Having a hard time seeing the blessings right now? Well … now you’re thinking about it. Keep thinking about it. Knowing you’ll be writing about it means you’ll be more AWARE that there ARE blessings all around, even in crisis. What are they? Write them down. Take those pictures.
Document. It’s doable + powerful. You won’t regret it. You will value looking back at these records years from now. Your posterity will be blessed for it. And we are going to be okay.
Your friend in documenting, always + forever.