I’m not hardcore into bullet-journaling, but I have incorporated some BuJo techniques and formatting ideas into crafting my to-do lists.
I *am* into Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, though. Especially Song of Myself. Memorizing and being able to recall, recite, perform, and even preach significant chunks of it is a life goal of mine. It’s also just a huge spiritual comfort and inspiration.
My used paperback copy of Leaves of Grass next to my vintage translucent green Parker Vector fountain pen.
The work of Walt Whitman is also a political touchstone, comfort and inspiration to me as a human in the United States of America, and God knows how much we need that right now (a lot: we really really need it a lot right now).
It seems fitting on the last day of Pride month heading straight into the week of our Independence Day / 4th of July holiday to organize and plan activities that celebrate nature, self, sensuality and sexuality coming from an all-American icon. Yes, dude was (and still is) controversial and nowhere close to perfect; these things too are what make his words a spiritual solace and his life’s works iconic American masterpieces.
So! I feel inspired to start making to-do lists based on poetry. Starting with the very beginning of Song of Myself and the super-enticing suggestive prioritization of transcendent poetic activities:
Shadows and leaves of grass laying on top of WW-inspired to-do list next to bronze Lamy Al-Star fountain pen & vintage Parker Vector.
Summer day to-do list: celebrate yourself! Sing yourself! Lean and loafe and observe a spear of summer grass!
So important to put REST on our to-do lists; LOAFE in an immersive, hyperfocused, sensory-trance.
Invite your soul to SING with pleasure, in tune with the wonders all around us.
I don’t know that I’ll actually seek out other poems to find daily to-do list inspiration. While I’m more into poetry than by-the-book bullet journaling, I can’t say I read very much of it. BUT! I love the idea.
Looking at poems as activity suggestions feels like a a good tool for making poetry accessible and practical/actionable for people who aren’t that into it. Maybe it runs counter to the intended purpose of poetry, but finding stuff to do in a poem seems like a fun ironic door into making it meaningful for people who might otherwise not know how to appreciate it.
Using poems to inspire to-do lists feels like a fun way to incorporate more beauty, and artful, contemplative living into life. A reminder that “we are human BEINGS, not human DOINGS”; it’s healthy and nutritious for our daily priorities to reflect more being, and less “productive” do-do-doing.
