I wrote a sentence today.

What do we do when we write about something? We pay attention to it.

That’s what writing does- it helps us be mindful. We are suddenly aware.

My great-grandmother’s sister kept a diary. She wrote in it every day. She was living fully and giving each moment the attention it deserved. She died young. She was just in her twenties. She left her diary behind. It’s a soft, brown small leather book- as worn and loved as a rag doll.

My grandmother was named after her. She too wrote in a diary. Her diary recorded the day’s events in almost a ledger format. She wrote about what people ate for dinner at the restaurant, where they went, what they wore. It was a recording, but also a reflection of the attention she was giving to the day and people she was with. Like a keeper of time, she preserved the day in a neat, tidy little capsule.

I was named after my grandmother. I also wrote in a diary. It was more of a journal and now, it’s actually a blog. Like the other ‘Amys’, I write and give attention to my day, my thoughts, my ideas, and my interpretation of the world around me.

Just for today, be mindful. Write a sentence. Pay attention. Perhaps you’ve already been doing this for generations…