When life comes at me as it has this past week, I am calmed by the knowledge that I know where I can work out my stuff in private and then decide what action needs to happen from a place of clarity and calm.

I took the challenging circumstances to my journal, and on both occasions, within minutes of writing, clear responses to these situations became abundantly apparent.

If you know me even a little, you will likely have seen my “BFF,” my beloved art journal, who travels with me everywhere I go. This book is my lifeline. It has seen me through the best of times and the hardest of times.

I use it in many ways: to clear the clutter when my emotions sweep me off my feet, to help me show up in the best possible way when life circumstances or a relationship are not going as I want or need them to. It reveals limiting beliefs, keeping me small and unhelpful patterns that are unconscious until they are made visible on the page.

When the quiet of January descends and the busyness of December subsides, I brew tea and pull out my journals and day-timer from 2024. I get cozy whenever I can and begin my year in review.