The journals I use have two parts. There is the insert and the cover.
The insert is the paper. I make my own inserts from store bought paper.
The cover is made from leather. The cover is made by RA.
When I finish writing in an insert, I remove it, store it, and replace it with a new insert.
There is a paradox in my journaling. On the one hand, the RA cover lends immediacy and importance to my journaling. The cover is constantly in use. On the other hand, the meat of the journal, what I write, is removed from its leather cocoon for storage.
Historically, leather protected writings have lasted hundreds and thousands of years. How does the re-using of a few covers protect all my writings? At best, my limited collection of RA covers protect only the current inserts.
I will now resolve the apparent contradiction between permanence and impermanence, between protection and vulnerability.
Every day when I wake up in the morning, I am a new creation. Yet, I am a new creation with a past. That past includes things I've done to my credit, and things I've done to my discredit. My goal in journaling is to weed out the foreign elements, and strengthen the weak parts; to set out on a path to do right, and try to perfect my navigating that path.
Thus, everything I write in my journals is the culmination of a lifetime of work. The momentum of years is behind the movement of my pen on paper. Like a holograph, what I write today encompasses the totality of all my existence.
Thus, my current journal is the most critical one to save. Yes, I hold onto and safeguard and read my past writings, but they are just the ropes and footholds I used to climb the mountain so far. There are missteps that I'd rather be permanently blotted out, as if they never were. Where I am perched now is the critical point.
A morning will come where I do not wake up. A line will be drawn tallying up all my days, and the sum of my deeds calculated. My final journal will have been written. It is that journal that will be preserved for another generation to benefit from, or to ignore.
Renaissance Arts sells inserts for their journals. RA sells blanks inserts. RA sells inserts for specific interests.
Here is a link to an RA webpage for blank inserts, and a quote from that page:
http://www.renaissance-art.com/prod92/product.aspx
"There are two schools of thought regarding Journals. One says that the pages become jealous when removed and forced to share the cover with a new set of pages.
"But sometimes, we grow so accustomed to using our Journal, the idea of 'breaking in' a new one just doesn’t seem right. It’s OK… we make Refillable Journals to solve this dilemma. Our refills come in 4 standard sizes with hand torn pages of acid-free, 100% cotton rag paper. They are hand stitched onto a tag board cover to slide into your leather cover. Our refills, like all of our books, lay flat when open. Receive a 20% discount on refills when you order a Refillable Journal. "
