Are you having trouble coming up with an idea for a journal entry? Are you looking for journal prompts?  Sometimes the best ideas can be plucked from the news. It can be as simple as adding an image, as in my quick take on Monday’s Super-Moon.

Along with my soluble ink and watercolor wash I used a bit of Titanium White gouache for the moon. Nice and opaque… I’m liking that.

And today is the third annual World Elephant Day. A little web search found a host of activities going on… too bad the day will soon be over. Instead I created my own homage. A few years ago I inherited a lovely book, The Eye of the Elephant by Delia and Mark Owens; it tells the personal story of the authors’ quest to save the endangered elephants of Zambia. I’ve always loved their cover image… to me elephants really are the soul of Africa. My copy of it became a way to remember how treasured they should be.

And then there’s Robin Williams. As one who’s had friends and family members who suffered with depression, and ultimately suicide, my wounds go deep. There will be pages. Reflections, maybe even images.

Quinn McDonald said it well today.

None of us knew Robin William’s suffering, but we know that silence is a killer. Our culture doesn’t approve of any perceived mental weakness, and the more the secret of depression is kept, the bigger the horror of it grows.

Allow the pain in your life to speak. Give your friend, your relative, your lover, your partner the gift of the question that heals: Why do you suffer so?

If you know someone who needs to talk, or if you do, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-TALK (8255). The group is a series of 163 crisis centers in 49 states. Your call is confidential.