The Fountain #022 - Using a Fountain Pen: A State of Mindfulness
Writing with a fountain pen is more than just recording words on paper.
Choosing to use a fountain pen sets the scene. This is more than writing for writing’s sake. You are entering a state of mind and looking for an experience.
There is a calmness, a meditative state that we enter when writing with a fountain pen. The care we take with the strokes, the way the ink flows as we put nib to paper. This makes the experience.
What you write is far less important than why you write. And writing with a fountain pen helps reinforce the why, and get you into the right state of mindfulness. To be present for your writing, for what you’re creating, but to also enjoy the journey.
Using a fountain pen serves to inspire and motivate, as much as it provides the ink for your words on the page.
Late last year I made the decision to use a fountain pen for all my writing. For daily work notes as well as my journaling. Notes for work are pretty dry, without much thought required. They just need to record facts.
My journaling though, that’s a different story. When I pickup my fountain pen to journal for the day, it is with intention. I may not know exactly what I’m going to write, but I am setting myself up mentally by picking up a fine writing instrument, holding it just right, readying myself for what lies ahead for the next 10 or 15 minutes.
I always look forward to the experience.
During this time I am not “just” writing. I’m of a different mindset. Being purposeful. Creating.
I sometimes imagine myself like the scholars of old with quill and ink, recording their thoughts and ideas for future generations to discover.
How does writing with a fountain pen make you feel?
Until next time.
Resources
How Fountain Pens Can Teach Us The Art of Mindfulness
The Renaissance of Fountain Pens - Why they're making a comeback in the Digital Age?
Writing In Style: Rediscover The Pleasure of Fountain Pens
Quote
“Many individuals find the use of fountain pens to be a soothing and meditative experience. The smooth flow of fountain pen ink and the gentle glide of the nib across paper provides a sense of calm and focus, making the act of writing a stress-relieving activity.”
P.S.
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Couldn’t agree more. The deliberate act of writing with a fountain pen feels so much more powerful, even for the simplest of tasks.