Post No. 038 : Arthur's Email : 5775.04.04

Should you journal digitally?  ::  Renaissance Art

I get asked all the time about whether or not digital journaling or note taking are a good idea.  And, like the answer to most every question like that, I say, "it depends"  The best book to write in is the one you always have with you and it really does not matter what that is.  And if all you have is your phone or tablet then yes, of course it is a good idea... just make sure it gets transferred to your "permanent" physical journal asap. AND HERE ARE 3 REASONS WHY Reason 1: What is digital stays digital. What you write digitally stays digital and virtual until you bring it into the real world by writing it in a "real" book.  The digital and virtual world have no foothold when it comes to the real world of journaling.  If you want to manifest a thought, idea or event in the real world then it needs to be done in an real book. Reason 2: Serendipitous Connections. When something remains virtual it is very easy to search and find because digital searching is so exact.  But in that exactness is a very limited opportunity to accidentally, spontaneously, serendipitously and providentially bump into other thoughts and ideas... like you would while paging thru a real physical journal in search of something. Having control over something is efficient and predictable.  But those are not the building blocks of inspiration and original thought and neither do they allow for what is greater than us in this universe to have it's way with us and what we find. While searching digitally gives us control over what we search for and find, it does not fully allow us to bump into other, seemingly unrelated, things. Inspiration and original ideas do not come from an automatic action or something we can predict.  Having control or intention are not welcomed, needed or required when you want to be inspired. Serendipity is finding something pleasantly unexpected which you were never in search of.  This is just one way a real journal can give back to us. Reason 3: Permanence. I was told a few weeks ago by a visiting archivist who stopped by the studio that the big discussion in archival circles today is about how to preserve all the digital data in the world today. The answer:  PRINT IT! Enough said about that. Do you get stuck sometimes in knowing what to write or when or..... ? Click this link HERE and let me know. It's a 1 question survey and would really help me to write about things that are real, relevant to you and authentic.  Safe Travels from Alex and I! Create and Keep your Stories   Arthur and Alex  owner, Renaissance Art www.renaissance-art.com PS.  Most of this email was written in my journal while sitting on the side of a trail while hiking.  If I had nothing to write in at the time I would have lost this thought not just because I am an old fart with limited memory.  It's because the ink of our mind fades really quickly at all ages.  Probably a little more quickly for me but that is another story :)