My daughter Leslie has been encouraging me to write in my journal. I tell her a write in my journal every Monday morning, but she says that doesn’t count.

While serving as a missionary and in my early military years I was more regular journal keeper.

I wrote about everything; well, almost everything.

When I go back and read I find lots of what I did but very little of what I thought. I guess that’s why I feel the Monday Morning Boost is a form of a journal. I record some of my experiences along with some of my thoughts and feelings.

Granted, the Monday Morning Boost is a very public snapshot, shared with all who receive and choose to read. Similar in fashion, I suppose, to those who blog and share on social media.

Furthermore, both methods are permanently recorded in cyberspace. Our posterity and future generations will not have to look very hard nor too far to find out something about us.

Yet, perhaps having a mass of information easily accessible is not enough.

Do likes, faves, and thumbs-up really say much about who we are?

Will a hashtag-accentuated comment posted on someone else’s post give our posterity an inkling of who we are?

Will a plethora of ramblings about what we do throughout the day give a great-grandchild the ability to know the parents of their grandparents?

With such a mass of information online, will anyone care enough to actually go looking? If they do, will they find something of value to foster the desire to keep reading?

Sharing something is better than sharing nothing. But there must be a better way than a data dump of social media posts which may cause our posterity to feel like they’re reading a congressional budget report.

So following the prompting of Leslie, much to her delight I’m sure when she reads this, I’m following her advice started writing in my journal again.

I’m using a secure online journaling tool to make it easier to preserve for posterity while also saving them the arduous task of deciphering my penmanship. I’ve also found my thoughts and writing flow smoother and better with QWERTY than a Number 2 pencil.

I have actually started as well. I recorded in my journal a personal experience that touched my spirit yesterday while sharing a thought at church about Thanksgiving. I hope this little snippet conveys a small token of the gratitude I feel.

“At this time of year, we have the opportunity to give thanks for the many blessings we have. Sometimes the normal routines and business of life can shield us from seeing the blessings surrounding us. It’s like we have blinders on and all we can see is what’s right in front of us. When we choose to give thanks for our blessings, an amazing thing happens… our eyes are immediately opened to the many blessings we have.”

I leave you with Josh Grobin’s inspiring song “Thankful.”

Somedays we forget
To look around us
Somedays we can’t see
The joy that surrounds us
So caught up inside ourselves
We take when we should give.

So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be.
And on this day we hope for
What we still can’t see.
It’s up to us to be the change
And even though we all can still do more
There’s so much to be thankful for.

Look beyond ourselves
There’s so much sorrow
It’s way too late to say
I’ll cry tomorrow
Each of us must find our truth
It’s so long overdue

So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be
And every day we hope for
What we still can’t see
It’s up to us to be the change
And even though we all can still do more
There’s so much to be thankful for.

Even with our differences
There is a place we’re all connected
Each of us can find each other’s light

So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be
And on this day we hope for
What we still can’t see
It’s up to us to be the change
And even though this world needs so much more

There’s so much to be thankful for

Have a great Monday! Thanks for letting me share.

Les Patterson

p.s. Take 13 minutes today to record your thoughts in a journal of any kind. Here’s a guide to help you start.

Original photo by Prabhu

Quote Creation by Symphony of Love

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