Last month we launched ‘Things We Love’ page on our website, it's a page dedicated to carefully curated objects that inspire moments of quiet reflection. One of the things we love is the Moon List Journal thoughtfully created by Leigh Patterson.
The Moon List is like no journal I’ve come across, it encourages real introspection with a series of list-based prompts that ask you to meditate on your week or month – it’s a beautiful self-guide to help you keep in tune.
Leigh was kind enough to give us some insight as to what inspired her to create the Moon List Journal and her selfcare rituals.
1. What inspired you to create Moon Lists?
The Moon Lists started after I read an interview with National Geographic photographer Sam Abell, who mentioned a monthly ritual he shared with his wife: an evolving set of questions they would exchange centering around the last 30 days. I was intrigued and wrote to him, requesting to see the full list and wondering if I could have permission to reimagine the project on my own — to my delight, he responded (nearly a year later!) After that, I began the Moon Lists as an interview series, sending prompts to different contributors all framed around the recent past. As the project evolved, I realized people were using the Lists in a different way than I’d intended... taking these open-ended questions and using them as entry points for self-inquiry or journaling. This direction turned into a printed workbook of 18 months of prompts, list-making exercises, and ideas for developing a (low stakes) ritual around self-reflection.
2. Have you always used a journal? If no when did you start and what inspired it?
I have always used writing as a way to process my thoughts but have historically been terrible about doing so with consistency. The Moon Lists method was basically my way of creating order and structural guardrails to better organize my cluttered thought process! I work really well with thinking short-term and taking inventory of how/who I am right now with no strings attached. In doing so I find it becomes much easier to create a muscle for seeing life from a range of vantage points, and to help yourself find new levels of perspective.
3. We know its hard to pick a favourite, but do you have an all time favourite artist or quote that you return to?
At Moon Lists, a “mantra” of sorts is: The Only Way Forward Is Through.
I also love, “If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking.” — R. Buckminster Fuller
4. What is your idea of self care?
I regard "caring" for myself as part nurturing and part taking the time to question ways of being. My favorite "self care" is solo travel - there is nothing that simultaneously calms me down, inspires me, and challenges me like navigating a new place on my own. While for obvious reasons that hasn't been much of an option recently, I have been seeking other ways to strike that balance. I just moved to a new city and have been really enjoying going out on long walks on my own, no route or destination in mind, just letting my mind wander. I always tend to discover something that way.
5. What is your rainy-day/ stuck indoors routine to cheer yourself up?
I don't really have a routine but things that make me happy while confined to my house include :
- MOVEMENT - Pilates streams, live yoga classes from my favorite studios around the world (shout-out Sky Ting, LOVE yoga, Bfree, and extremely cringey (but fun?) dance workout videos on YouTube that make me very glad no one can see into my window. Incriminating footage abounds!)
- Wind down rituals - At around 6:00 every night my partner and I will like clockwork switch to “wind-down mode,” where — even if we’re still both working — we will put on music, change the lighting, light some incense (my favorite is Bodha CALM), have a drink, and just signal that the day is ending.
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