Journals provide ways for us to reflect, record, and plan. They allow us to celebrate, mourn, dream, and more.

From a seasonal living standpoint, journals allow us to be extremely aware of our surroundings. It is for this reason that, one of the best ways to make sure seasonal living is a priority is simply to notice and record what’s happening in the natural world during each season.

This doesn’t have to be anything elaborate, it’s simply jotting down a note about the natural world and perhaps recording just how that natural rhythm is playing out inside the home as well.

These don't have to be elaborate art journal recordings. Though if that's your thing, go for it. Truly it can just be a simple line or two on a calendar or in a composition book. Just a note about what's happening. Some examples:

September 24th: Full harvest moon, so bright. Glorious. Made first apple pie of the season.
October 1st: Harvested the last of the calendula blooms, the plants are giving up for the year.
November 15th: First snowfall - just a skiff.

You can download a simple weekly printable journal page here. It's just enough to record a couple of sentence each day. It's easy to print and store in a 3-ring binder.

Beyond noticing the season itself take a moment to also record what you’re doing or thinking about your seasonal goals and intentions. This is a great way to stay focused on those intentions.

If you’re not a writer, perhaps your journal is a sketchbook or even photographs. There’s no reason instagram can’t be your journal if you so choose. Create a simple journal (whatever that means to you) - it can be something tangible or something electronic. Record in that journal the things happening in the natural world and try to record and sense it with all of your senses. Record thoughts of anything meaningful to you.

I've created a special printable that includes one of my favorite quotes about journaling that you can download here. I made it as a square image so that you can cut it out for pasting, stick in your journal or post it on the fridge, if you desire.

Lesson 3: A Journal to Connect