Let’s Decorate a Quote with Octavia Butler

Let’s Decorate a Quote with Octavia Butler

I’m reading Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia Butler and wanted to journal using a sentence from her short story, The Evening and the Morning and the Night.

If you work hard enough
at something that doesn’t matter,
you can forget for a while
about the things that do.

— Octavia Butler

I call this form of journaling a “decorated quote” or “message picture.” I write down a word or sentence and then draw colorful, organic lines around it. I’ve been doing this form of journaling for 30 years or so (hard to remember when I started) and find that every time I do it, I feel relaxed and satisfied. It’s like an artsy meditation. So, grab your journal and some colorful markers and let’s journal together!

Peg Cheng (she/her) is an author, artist, and educator living in Seattle, Washington. If you enjoyed reading this post, subscribe to Peg’s newsletter to get new posts sent right to you.

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