Sunday, 20 January 2019

Booked

I've been told that I keep way too many personal books. And today when I stacked all of them up for this blog post, I see why.
I have 9 different books I keep for different purposes.
And today I shall share with you some of the formats and themes of these books.
So if you have an empty book lying somewhere in your house and you're feeling kind of creative, go ahead, make yourself a book. Or a journal... Whatever you may want to call it. And be more aware of your thoughts, your interests and yourself in general.
1. The Classic Diary
This journal has nothing much to explain. It's the good old diary journaling. In it, exists all your thoughts and daily experiences.
I write almost anything and everything in my diary...from rants to lovely experiences, my day or even to-do lists. Sometimes I even write out quotes.. My quotes, mind you.
This is like a miscellaneous book about your life.
At times, I even write about my life in third person... Which is... Fun, I guess to me?
2. The Song and Poetry book.
I used to write songs as a kid, so this book contains all of them... Or all that I want to remember cause the rest are trash or I've forgotten it before it reached a paper.
It also contains poems and poetic deep thoughts, analogies. I've tried to write scripts too but that was an utter failure cause I got bored.
I like to write the date I wrote it and I also have a column for any extra remarks like... What was the situation in which I wrote it or who I wrote it for.
3. Universal learner
I like to study about random subjects that intrigue me during my vacations and pass times. So I made a book for it so I could have everything in one place. This book of mine consists of lessons I've learnt on YouTube and Google searches on philosophy, grammar rules, C++ codes and HTML tags.
4. Doodle book
I used to doodle a lot on my textbooks until I realized that I'd have to give those textbooks away after the academic term... Along with my previous doodles. So? I made a book specifically for my doodles during school/college hours. Not really to be used during actual lectures (unless your teacher is fine with it and you don't mind studying the same topic at home again)... But during break time or free lectures.
I'm currently using my 3rd or 4th doodle book.
5. Miracle journal
I began to write this book after seasons of discouragement where I felt like God didn't do anything and has never answered any of my prayers. It's like a gratitude journal but.... You say statements like, "Thank you God for ________".
I actually like to begin with what the issue was then I write out the miracle in between two stars...to put emphasis on how God handled the situation. It doesn't matter how small the miracle was.... What matters is that God took care of it... Whether or not you prayed for the miracle or not.
Once I started writing this book, I realized the many ways God's hand was on my life and I felt God's presence more deeply. And this helps me to be hopeful for the unanswered prayers of my life and the waiting period that it requires.
The more we recognize God in the answered prayers, the more we learn to trust Him for the ones He hasn't answered yet.
6. Travel journal
This is a relatively smaller book so that it can be taken along the journey. Though I don't take it out when I travel actually. (cause I'm afraid of losing it)
In this book, I write the dates and timings of my travel, with whom I traveled with or who all I met, where it was, how I went there, how much I spent, what I ate and a description of the entire experience.
Some of these travels aren't even all that great... It could be just going to the bookstore yourself. But the fact that I traveled somewhere besides the places I usually go to.. Makes it worth saving in my book.
7. Faith journal
Yes, by now its obvious that I'm Christian.
So here I write down favorite reflections I've read from the daily readings, cool prayers from the internet, favorite psalms, topics I've researched on, my faith journey for a time period, Pastor Joseph prince sermon points, talks I've heard at youth meetings, my own revelations, titles of Jesus and pointers of Christian articles/videos I've seen online.
It helps me know where I've been in my faith journey and keeps all the resources I need in one place so I can refer to it when I need to.
8. Life goals and favorites book
I'm pretty sure it would've been better if these were two separate books but it's fine... I wanted to save the amount of books I spend doing my random things with.
Life goals... Here I write down all the things I want to do at least once in my life.  Some of these are pretty lame, like, "make it through a whole lollipop without biting it".
And some of these may take a lot of time to achieve, like, "be financially independent".
While some of these are just to have fun, "Sing to the sea at the beach".
There are some challenges here too, like, "Talk to a new person everyday for 10 days."
The possibilities here are endless and they make life fun.
Favorites book.... I list down all the books, movies and songs I've listened to and liked... Or even remotely liked. It helps me keep track of my interests and I can see them change over time. 
9. Book of secrets
In this book, I write down all my favorite quotes, rules I keep for myself, my boundaries, dating standards, passwords  and other secrets.
Extra tips
-always keep an index
-use different fonts, stickers and colored pens
-keep them safely away from nosey people
-don't feel bad if you don't regularly use your books. Use them as and when you please. It's your book, you make the rules.
-begin small... In quantity or quality. See if you can handle keeping one such book first then gradually increase.
-try not to mix contents too much. It may get confusing when you actually want to go back and read your books then.
So now, it's upto you. Do you feel inspired to write a book for yourself too?

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