Where's Your Moleskine? [Todd)

I've been in love with a certain kind of journal for a long time. They are called Moleskines, they are really cool, and you can read about or even order one your veryownself right here .

Supposedly, they were used by folks like Van Gogh and Hemingway. That's probably part of why I like them, because I can dream about being great when in fact what I write down is pretty normal and boring to almost anyone but me.

Really, though, the main reason I like them is that they look and feel simultaneously cool and really old school. I like technology and all - would not want to be without either my BlackBerry or my MacBook - but I love old school paper and pen too. My favorite store in Charlotte may be the Paper Skyscraper in Dilworth. Either there or the used bookstore in Plaza-Midwood.

Writing in a Moleskine journal takes longer than typing in my MacBook or thumbing into my BlackBerry. Plus, I never learned to hold a pen correctly and so my hand cramps up all the time.

But I would not want to be without my Moleskine, because it is a sacred place for me.

It's where I record experiences, keep a record of the books I have read and the wines I have tasted, where I write down quotes I want to remember and sort out problems and dilemmas. I fill legal pads on a daily basis for quick stuff, but when I am dealing with something significant, something I think I might not want to lose, I open the Moleskine.

And no one - NO ONE - reads it but me.

I need my Moleskine. I need a place where I am comfortable, where I am me - where there is something beautiful (in the case of the Moleskine it is the weight of the paper and the quality of the binding), a place of peace to test ideas and record impressions and note important events and wrestle with God and life.

You need one too. Maybe not an actual Moleskine, but you need that same kind of place. For you, it might be a kitchen table or a workshop, or a garage, or a quiet corner, or a laptop...but you need a place where you can be alone with yourself and with God. Life moves too fast to just take it on the run all the time. We need someplace to be quiet and listen and think.

Where's your Moleskine?