Words to keep

The quiet joy of collecting quotes

Late afternoon sun streams through my teenage daughter’s window, spotlighting her as she curls cat-like on the bed, around scraps of paper, glue, a scattering of pencils and a tatty journal. In this tableau, her expression is serene and contemplative. The book is fat with scribbled notes, fragments of lyrics, a shopping list, a gig ticket – the seemingly trivial and ordinary alongside poetry and prose. She proudly shares with me the origins and significance of some of the scraps, mapping out their connections to who she is, who she was and who she hopes to become.

I find myself reflecting on the box beneath my own bed, stuffed with diaries from my youth, handwritten letters on flimsy airmail sheets and cards with words too precious not to keep. Books on shelves have inspirational quotes tucked between their pages. Others are dog-eared with quiet signposts to where I once lingered. Just as today’s social media pins hold on to moments of resonance from fast-moving feeds, these humble treasures are the map of my journey.

What draws a person to particular words? What compels the careful curation and quiet hoarding of phrases that soothe or ring true? The mindful, almost sacred practice of noticing and preserving words that resonate can create small archives that become deeply personal companions.