» Israel Michele Cashmore ~ author | playwright

My beautiful journal ♥

Do you keep a diary? I’ve kept a diary for as long as I can remember. The colourful and personalised journal, coloured pens, stickers, glued in pictures and so on. This was and still is an absolute must when I travel. Travel is so important to me and to travel without a journal would be unthinkable. I like to capture the images of magnificent buildings such as the Taj Mahal or the spitting camel or that train ticket of the train trip to hell from Delhi to Srinagar! I’m a visual person so any images or pictures or crazy drawings will give me an instant reminder of what happened that day without having to read the entire entry.

An example of one of my travel diaries...

I suppose you could say that the blog is the modern day/computer version of a diary as so many people run a personal blog. But really when you boil it down even a personal blog is not quite the same as a diary. A diary is where your inner most self, secrets, fears, desires, and passion are poured. Your diary is your companion, sometimes your counsellor and most times an account of your journey for that year no matter how mundane you thought it may have been.

Personalised cover of my London diary...

Reading back through your journal reminds you, and quite often you are surprised by all the wonderful moments you had actually forgotten about.

In recent years I haven’t been as diligent in keeping the diary since blogging. I would start a diary in the New Year only to find by March it’s been forgotten, didn’t have time or can wait until tomorrow, with the exception of travelling, and then it’s an absolute must, and I magickally always find the time

When I found this week-long course on journaling by Nicole Cody at her wonderful blog Cauldrons and Cupcakes, I knew I had to reconnect with that love of longhand, the pictures, the coloured pencils, highlighters, stickers, glitter, whatever takes your fancy because it’s not only the writing, the story ideas or the getting down of what is in your soul, it’s also or can be, the getting in touch with the inner child and creating again. While I had that creative spirit knocked out of me by my Year 10 English teacher I managed to retain it within the pages of my diaries that I kept year after year after year – until we all became computer obsessed – me included.

And remember to read Nicole’s post on living authentically as it will assist you on getting back to the roots of journalling and why it is sooo’ important!

I trust you will get as much out of this course as I did. Happy journaling

Midnight rambler wanting to borrow her niece’s giant coloured pencils…

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When I tuned into Triple J this arvo on my way to work I was totally gob smacked to find that it’s been twenty years since Nirvana’s classic Album ‘Nevermind’ was released. Twenty years! Even more shocked to hear listeners ring up and say they were under five or not even born. Seriously! Oh, wow – what you have missed.

Nirvana, a grunge band out of Seattle, literally changed how I saw the world. This is not an exaggeration. Kurt Cobain – my God! Just the best and of course Dave Grohl – I mean look at him now (Foo Fighters). I’d like to say I luv them as much but I just don’t…

I have to tell you listening to Triple J and some of the Nirvana tracks they played – Wow how powerful is music? – the memories it evoked where like BAM! The year was 1991 ‘Nevermind’ had just been released. I lived in Israel in the middle of the Negev Desert and every Friday night Shabbat (our one night off) we, the volunteers from all parts of the world, would head down to the only Israel night club, Givalot (yes in the middle of the desert) and rock out to ‘Smells like Teen Spirit’. It’s the one song I can always remember everyone dancing too! And I mean everyone. As soon as the DJ spun the record you fought for every inch on the dance floor

Here’s that all time brilliant song best played loud!

I saved my pennies (a months pay was equivalent to about AUD $80.00) and I had to buy food for a month but I took the bus trip into Beersheva and spent AUD $15.00 of that hard earned money and bought the cassette ‘Nevermind’ – couldn’t afford the CD It did the rounds on the Moshav – everyone I knew borrowed it and we thrashed it to death. I have since had to buy the CD.

Another favourite of mine: (pretty difficult to choose actually since I luv em all)

Nirvana was God back then and while it was grunge it was fresh music. It was beautiful, raw and sexy and we couldn’t get enough of it. And then the albums that followed and the MTV unplugged – what an album that is

Then I returned home in Feb 1994 and two months later Kurt was dead. I won’t even go into the deep loss and grief I experienced at that time – it was a double edge sword . I had just left a world behind that I loved and didn’t want to be here in OZ and was grieving for my life in Israel and London and Kurt’s death compounded that – the life I grieved had truly gone. Kurt and his music was so pivotal to one of the most magickal times of my life and now he was dead. But this post is not about grief. This post is about the celebration of a fantastic album, a brilliant band that had the most profound impact for their short time on the music scene.

And if you aren’t bored yet – here’s another:

If you are around this Friday night and want to check out the release of their movie (their only LIVE show recorded on film) performing at the Paramount in their hometown then check all the details here screening in cinemas around the country – do yourself a favour and check it out. Watch the trailer here

As for me I will have to wait for the DVD as I will be working

On that note I will leave you with another song I kinda rather adore: Click here or the vid below.

Midnight rambler lost in a time steeped with memories that I’m so happy I was actually old enough to enjoy. Maybe being older ain’t so bad after all ♥ Skin the sun, Fall asleep, Wish away…

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