Create a Florilegia

Do you have a place you keep quotes, pictures, poems that make you happy? I’m not talking about a journal or a diary where you put down your daily musings. I’m talking about a Florilegia or Commonplace book. As Tsh Oxenreider says, “A Commonplace book isn’t where you write your deepest, darkest secrets, it’s where you toy and fiddle with scraps of wisdom. It’s a space to let the act of collecting words and arranging them just-so make you more human, more of who you’re meant to be.”

If you’re the type of person who deeply relates to quotes and song lyrics or wants to hold poems closely or keep pressed flower mementos, you might enjoy creating a Florilegia! It can include quotes, flowers, photos, sketches, poems, anything that fits into the pages of a notebook!

Whenever I’m feeling down, I like to flip through my Florilegia because everything in it is so inspiring and it reminds me of who I am and who I want to be. This is something I started doing as a teen back in my LiveJournal days (anyone??) but I imagine for teens now who live so much of their lives online, this might be a calming practice, as well.

Would you create a Florilegia? Or is it something you think your child might enjoy? Do you already have one and call it something else? What are your favorite things to collect in your notebook? Share your thoughts with us!

Originally posted on kivity.com on July 12, 2022