Crawling into bed she reaches over grabbing her journal and pencil. The bedside lamp shines its yellow glow upon the unlined paper. The page is blank, yet her mind is full of the day. Each night she slides under the covers, following the same routine. She asks herself five questions, recording her thoughts, then lays her head down to fall asleep. That routine has just begun. Tapping her eraser against the blank page she runs through her day. Then, she writes:
What did I learn today?
Today, I became aware of an insecurity I had not known existed inside of me. Out of no where the feeling bubbled inside me as I sat alone and watched the sun fall into the ocean. Without anyone to share this sunset with me…
Finishing the thought and taking a sip of water, she moves onto the next question.
How could I have been a better person?
Several times throughout the day, I wasn’t present. My mind wanders to the future. I wish I was closer to my dreams, but I know I am far off. Fear and jealousy creep in every time I allow my mind to wonder. Building anxiety that I can not control. When I am focused on the task at hand, I am fine. Tomorrow I shall continue following my compass, for if I look backwards, I have made significant progress. Why is this so hard?
Laying on her back and propping her journal on a pillow, she starts to think about the third question. A question she has enjoyed asking herself these days.
Why did I get out of bed today?
Lately, I have been jumping out of bed before my alarm goes off. Even though I am exhausted, the most I have to do to wake up is to ask myself a simple question, “Are you going to waste this morning?” Then I am up. Today, I knew I had an opportunity to see…
As the tears of joy began surfacing and ran down her cheek with each blink, she works on the next question.
What was shared with me today? What did I share today?
Shared with me today was an abundance of love from family and friends. They smothered me with text messages. For that, I am exceedingly grateful! I should thank them tomorrow!
Today, I shared a few images on Instagram from a recent assignment in Joshua Tree National Park. The images are okay. I am happy that I shared them, but the edits were not as good as they should have been. They are a bit overexposed and don’t really tell a story.
Taking another sip of water, she sits up in bed and begins working on the last question.
How can I prioritize tomorrow to take a step closer to my ideal day?
I have been focused on creating work I am proud to share, but I have not been sharing it with this world except through IG. Tomorrow I will start sharing the work I am creating on a multitude of different platforms. My goal in this lifetime is to share the beauty of this world.
After a quick smiley-face doodle, she closes her notebook, and places it on the nightstand, turns off the light, slides under the cover, tucks a pillow between her arms and legs, and closes her eyes. Her mind is thankful she already knows what she needs to do tomorrow.