These are questions to sit with — not tasks to complete. A daily adjective, a projection into the future, an honest look at what is working and what is not. The practice is simple; the depth is up to you.
Pick an adjective that best describes your day today. Then pick one that describes how you want tomorrow to be.
If a year from now, you could be living exactly as you want to be, how would your life change?
Project your current life path into the future. Is it what you want for yourself? Do you envision a positive or a negative outcome? If negative, are there changes you can make now in either your interior world or in your exterior circumstances that would lead to the kind of life you want for yourself?
Pick an adjective that best describes your day today. Then pick one that describes how you want tomorrow to be. Do that for a month and you’ll notice that you are affecting your reality.
Imagine this process as deep-sea fishing. Cast the line as far and deep as you can. Don’t stay close to shore where the water is muddy. Cast for your deepest thought or emotion.
Ask yourself whether there’s anything important about your current life that you’re avoiding . . . Feeling vulnerable is a sign that you are writing honestly.
What changes would allow you to make your maximum contribution to others – not just those you are close to or even know -- but the widest circle of unknown people you can possibly imagine?
What are you doing in your life that is working well?
. . .
My journal notes as example responses:
A year from now, I’d be painting more, writing less, doing less admin, less website design, less book design. I want to go deep with my art. Words seem so empty most of the time.
Yes, I’m moving, however slowly, however disorganized, toward the future I want for myself.
Adjective that describes my day so far: discouraged, stressed by all the change that is about to happen in my life.
How will tomorrow be different: paint more.
Questions am I avoiding? Why do I think change is always necessary, important? Why do I think I need to work this hard?
How could I contribute more to others? Paint more. Get better at marketing, expand my circle of connections. Think more, work less.
What is working really well? Making time every day for a long walk in the woods.
What isn’t? My connections with others. I am stressed these days to prone to anger.
The Tao Te Ching Journal: A Path To Inner Quiet
Zen Mountain Journal blends Taoist hermit poetry, contemplative art, and reflections drawn from a lifetime shaped by wilderness, solitude, and decades doing creative work on the outer boundaries of our culture. These journals are companions for seekers — guides in the reconnection with inner quiet, beauty, and the “soundless music” of a life lived with simplicity and meaning.
• Size: 9.25 × 8.5 inches — convenient size for desk or lap.
• Hardcover — the book can be written in without a table or desk.
• Double wire-o bound to lay flat.
• Printed on Mohawk Superfine, a premium uncoated paper for a beautiful writing surface.
• 160 pages.
