The most elemental purpose of a journal
is to serve as a place to record observations, whether
about the fate of the prairie or about the changes in
our own bodies. Journals devoted to unadulterated observation
tend to have a scientific bent, giving them an air of
authority. It takes a certain premeditated dedication
to get down just how things are; otherwise, the noise
of editorializing sounds out the finer notes. A chart
of when the birds returned reads much differently than
a spring-induced epiphany of the cycle of life. Life offers
a myriad of patterns, but our eyes must be open to see
them.
