Traveling the Path to Inspiration: Art Journals

Sometime inspiration just comes in a flash and ideas flow. Sometimes I have an idea but can't visualize it totally. I have to try and remember to look around and ask myself why is this subject something I like or even love. What is it that brings me joy. And sometimes what is it that stirs up emotions. Hmmm....I don't regularly use an art journal although I know it is important. Many artists write about the importance of keeping one but until it comes into your own consciousness on how important they are to your art then you might not use them. Not just because someone told you to.
Lately I have been looking back at some of my journal entries and I am starting to realize how important they really can be to my current or future work They are an expression of what I was feeling on the inside at the time of the entry. A part of my spirit so to speak. Looking back is like looking back on the path I traveled at that time to where I am thinking now. So I need to realize each time I think about a subject and try to stir up more inspiration I don't have to start all over from scratch! I can look back and see where I have been before, how much I've traveled with that same bit of inspiration and then think about how I feel about it now. I can add an entry in my journal by drawing, sketching, clipping ideas out and gluing them in, playing with color or just about anything at all. I don't have to rely on remembering it all in my head and getting frustrated. If I just used my journal to get my thoughts out, each time I feel the twinge of inspiration, the journal would mean a lot more to me and I believe I would get even more inspiration flowing. Even if the entries don't turn into something right now...they are traveling on the way to be something in the future.