the “scriptorium”

In an effort to do something fun every day until the end of summer, I decided this afternoon I would pick up a latte and visit one of my favourite local, independently owned bookstores. One of my favourite past times is  roaming the aisles of a bookstore, getting lost in the pages of books. Is there really a better way to spend an afternoon?

As I was walking towards one of my favourite sections, the rare and first-edition books, I discovered a room off the beaten path. A room I had never noticed, despite having visited this bookstore many, many times before. This space is know as the “scriptorium”; a room devoted solely for writing. Among the shelves were pages of scribbles, notes, affirmations, quotes, stories, poems, and love letters. As I stopped to read each of them, I realized that I had never noticed this beautiful place before because I was probably rushing. Rushing to the next appointment or meeting, or probably squeezing my book-outing into an otherwise jam-packed day.

In this moment I wondered: What if we took more time to slow down and notice more around us? Looked up from our phones and spent more time in the present moment? What else might we notice for the first time, despite visiting a space so many times before?