A Way to Discover Your Own Heaven
š Anyway, Memo_Jeong Hye-yun
The first book I picked up from the Anyway series was <Anyway, Memo>.
On weekends, with a cup of coffee, I open my notebook, listen to music, and occasionally space out, slowly jotting down plans and thoughts freely. I also enjoy transcribing, savoring, and organizing passages that deeply moved me when I saw or read them.
Looking back, Iāve always loved taking notes since I was little. The contents were jumbled, without order or clear rules, and I didnāt often look back at them, but I still consistently took notes because I loved the act of recording somethingā opening a notebook, picking up a pen, and writing until my wrist ached.
Reading <Anyway, Memo>, I deeply resonated with the authorās stories, and it allowed me to imbue note-taking with new and proper meaning. Throughout the read, I felt a sweet sensation, like opening a cherished box of chocolates and savoring each piece.
Without doubting efficiency and practicality, I should spend more time discovering my own heaven with a happier heart than ever before!
š Thoughts and Sentences I Loved
I took notes for myself. I went to a stationery store and bought several of the thickest notebooks. There, I started collecting good sentences from books I read. I gathered thoughts that would help me, like a bee collecting honey. At that time, I believed that if I tried, I could become a better me. There was no basis for this. Still, I had to believe. To believe, I had to create my own basis. No one acknowledges what I lack.
According to my observations, humans inevitably face moments when they struggle, wanting to start over. To love life means not to be afraid to start anew. This is a belief that has never changed since then. Even after that, no matter what I went through, I never gave up the desire to start over.
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The meaning of writing words in an empty space is greater than one might think. If I write āfriend,ā I want to enter that word. If I write ārainbow,ā I want to see that word. There are many such words: black swan, April snow, holly, Russian honey coffeeā¦ I called these words ātravel words.ā They were words that moved my heart, not my body. Each word had a story. However, no matter how wonderful the sentences I transcribed on the left, my life remained unwritten on the right page. Those rough ideas had to become more refined and precise, eventually becoming reality. I gradually grew accustomed to paying attention to the unwritten pages. I wanted to think about the future rather than the past. The blank spaces in my notebook felt like a reality more important than actual reality. Much later, I learned that Borges expressed this beautifully: āWe read words, but we live them.ā
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Our lives will ultimately be summarized by a few loves spanning a lifetime.
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Someone who takes notes is essentially gifting themselves time to think, and consequently, note-taking is related to āself-confidenceā or āself-respect.ā This is because they stop themselves. This is because they grasp something and keep it by their side.
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However, many good things are anti-capitalist. We often dismiss things that donāt make money as unimportant, yet we live with the help of those very things: the scent of figs, the fragrance of lilac blossoms, the chirping of birds, the joyful energy of the sea, petals falling from the sky, and countless forms of love that cannot be converted into money.
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Notes are ingredients. Notes are preparation. They are a warm-up process for life. Someday, the best of them must hatch into life. What is clear is that no one can stop us from taking notes on whatever we wish. What is clear is that within our notebooks, we can be braver. We can dream as much as we want. If we wish, we can be influenced by what we write. Even if we donāt know how to live, we can live as weāve written. Isnāt there Aristotleās saying to live according to the best within oneself, as much as one can? If there is nothing good within oneself, one can bring it in from the outside world.
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As a year passes, I transform the flow of time into words and sentences. Anyone who takes notes will find patience, wondrous moments, and thoughts within their own notebook.
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I briefly ponder the human mind that created calendars. We love order and continuity, and we cannot live otherwise. Happiness lies in having oneās own small order, small practices, and small rituals. Note-taking is a way of living by āpreparing,ā a way of establishing oneās own order. Note-taking can also be a way of living the future in advance, a way of discovering oneās own heaven.
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