It is good

The other day I got to peek inside my soul and see why I rank some days good and others not. I’d thought it would be dependent on how good that day’s events were, but that’s only part of it. Turns out that the prime factor is, instead, how many events there were. In other words, how many discrete things I need to mention in my journal entry that evening. :)

You see, even if a string of superstitiously unlucky events happens, that in itself is worthy of record in my journal, and so I subconsciously revel in that day even though the events themselves were misfortunes and not boons. The more things happen, the happier I am. (I don’t think there’s any etymological connection between those two words, by the way. ;))

Of course I do appreciate good things that happen, and I prefer them, but I now begin to see why I often don’t get so unsettled by the bad things that happen in my life. Everything is fodder for the journal machine. And you know what? I think that’s a good thing. If we’re able to get outside of our trials (as much as possible) and see them from a historical perspective, so to speak, it’s a lot easier to deal with them. I for one know that whenever I’m going through something difficult, thinking about it that way somehow gives me the strength to endure without being blasted to bits. And I can’t think of any real disadvantages to it; can any of you?

By “events” I don’t necessarily mean big things — I mean talking to someone I hadn’t talked to in a while, someone’s kind words, a funny observation, a good e-mail or letter, reading a good book, working on something creative, etc. In fact, I think the events that make a day worthwhile are the ones that I enjoy reading about. When I write something I’d like to read, I call it good. Writing about stuff I wouldn’t really care to read is hard for me, and the lack of interest almost always shows through.

Speaking of journal writing, Connor’s blogged about his new Moleskine notebook. You can see my Moleskine-lovin’ posts by searching for “moleskine” at the top of the sidebar. I heart heart heart Moleskines. Seriously. (Oh, and in my comment on his post I said I converted eight or nine months ago, but in looking through my previous Moleskine posts I found that it was eleven months. Not a big difference, to be sure, but I don’t want to miss my one-year anniversary. ;))