Want to know how to start Mother Culture? In my second article in the Mother Culture series, we’re getting practical. Join me as I walk you through this wonderful practice.
As we talked about in my previous post, the definition of Mother Culture can be hard to pin down. Add to that strong opinions and a particular aesthetic and you have a confusing, albeit sepia-toned and lovely, recipe (or lack thereof?). But like I said, we talked about that last time and we all agreed to give each other grace and go with the loose definition, “A half-hour set aside to read, think and remember in order to better ourselves”, right? So now’s the fun part- we actually get to start Mother Culture.
What Do I Need to Start Mother Culture?
- a good book
- a comfy spot (preferably on a fainting sofa I’M KIDDING)
- a notebook
- a pen
- 30 minutes
Wait, no linen dresses? No knitting needles? NO COFFEE?
All those things are welcome but unnecessary. In fact, I’d say the only crucial thing here is the book. You don’t have to write afterwards, you could be standing, and you don’t even have to have 30 minutes straight. And knitting really has nothing to do with it.
While we’re on the subject though, it’d be a good time to address the visually appealing elephant in the room…
Mother Culture Aesthetic
I’m as much of a sucker for particular aesthetics as anyone so no judgment here. In fact, I’ve found it helpful at times to lean in to my aesthetic tendencies to motivate myself, but more on that in a future post. For now, let’s recognize that aesthetics are powerful, especially on the internet, but we can’t let them become our master.
If putting on a linen dress and sipping coffee from a teacup while holding a first edition is enjoyable for you, please do so. If you feel like you can’t start Mother Culture until you have all those things, we have a problem.
We don’t expect our children to suddenly change into perfect angels and allow us to read for 30 uninterrupted minutes when we’ve never asked them to before, and we can’t expect ourselves to change into a linen-clad, serene-faced, fountain-pen-using, perfect mothers, either. (Let the reader understand, you also literally never have to if any of that sounds awful to you.)
Use the aesthetic as much as it is helpful to you, and forget the rest. Like I said last time, no one is policing your Mother Culture. (P.S. I own exactly zero linen.)
Commonplace Book or Book of Mottoes?
I’ll cut to the chase- they’re the same thing. Charlotte Mason, though never mentioning the term Mother Culture herself, did keep a Book of Mottoes. I believe she also coined the phrase but don’t quote me on that. For this article, we’ll stick with the name Commonplace Book, because I like it better š
The idea of a Commonplace Book goes back at least as far as the Renaissance, and you can trace the principle of it even further back. The concept is to keep a journal in which you copy down quotes that resonate with you for one reason or another in order to “store up” beautiful thoughts and ideas.
The type of journal and the exact method of the writing down, as well as the content of what you write is certainly up for debate.
For instance, some people think a Commonplace Book should be strictly for copying down quotes from others. Other people think it’s fine to add your own thoughts and reflections. Some people scoff at the idea of using technology as an aid, others can’t imagine Commonplacing without it
As with almost anything, you have to find what works for you. Keep the principle in mind (putting yourself in the way of truth, goodness and beauty) without getting bogged down in minutiae.
I’ll just add one thing before we get into the nitty-gritty of Commonplacing; because this is a practice meant to slow you down and help you think and remember, I’d be remiss to not encourage you to at least consider manually writing in a physical notebook.
Methods for Commonplacing
1. Simple Notebook
This could be any type of notebook you have or or want to have. Spiral bound or perfect bound, lined or unlined, beautiful or plain. You can narrow down your options by considering what sort of writer you are and what might motivate or hinder you.
On the one hand, you might be motivated by a pricier notebook with thick pages and a gorgeous cover. On the other, you might be intimidated by this and feel you’ll “mess it up”, and end up never touching pen to paper.
You might find yourself staring at the blank pages of an unlined journal and feel paralyzed, or you might see it as an open canvas, ready to soak up whatever you throw at it.
Size is another factor to consider; do you want fewer pages so as to accumulate volumes that you can then label and organize, or do you want a thick notebook with tons of pages that will last for years? Do you want the pages themselves to be large like an 8×11″, or small like a 4×6″?
Think through your own tendencies and preferences and choose a notebook based on those.
Organizing Your Simple Notebook
Lastly, as a way to organize a regular notebook, reserve the first couple of pages for an index. You can loosely section off pages with sticky bookmark tabs and have a couple of categories in mind, number the pages, then add things to your index as you go.
For instance, if you section of your notebook into thirds (Fiction, Non-Fiction, Scripture, let’s say), and you happen to be reading The Abolition of Man, and Anne of Green Gables, and studying the book of Romans, you’re going to have a lot of quotes to jot down š and you can easily fill a page or two of each of your three large sections. Then it’s as simple as labeling it in your index (Fiction p. 1-3 Anne of G.G., and so on).
That way, any time you want to look back at a quote, if you can vaguely remember what book it was from, the general time frame, or even the type of book (fiction or non), you have a great shot at finding it.
From there, you can always leave a little space or extra page for future Commonplacing on that particular book, or have a separate page later on and let your index reflect that (Fiction p. 1-3, 51 Anne of G.G.).
2. A Binder
For those of you who want the benefits of pen and paper but like the rearranging and impermanence that technology offers, I suggest a binder system.
With a binder, you can separate loose leaf paper into tabbed sections for easy navigation, and you can physically move pages around, take things out, make sections longer or shorter, and generally tweak things as you figure this Commonplace thing out.
You don’t have to completely sacrifice aesthetics, either. With a binder, you can customize the cover, the tabs, the paper, and the type and color of the binder itself. It won’t have the same feel as a journal, but you can weigh the pros and cons and see which appeals to you more.
You also have options for size if a regular binder seems too large.
Again, you can keep an ongoing index at the front of your binder if you find it helpful.
3. Apps
For those of us who want an easy, low pressure way to start, apps might be the way to go.
In saying that, I also want to stress that it is the goal to eventually transition to pen and paper, but this could be a way for you to go ahead and jump in and figure out the details later.
In the past (and sometimes when I don’t have access to my notebook) I’ve used my good ol’ notes app on my phone. Just one long document with the date of each entry at the top and the citation of the quote at the bottom. Later I’ve copied it into a certain section of my notebook, which is also great for retention but not entirely the goal; just an added bonus.
Evernote, Notebooks, and Google Keep are good choices for digital Commonplacing. I personally have used Google Keep the most. It is a very straightforward note-taking app, but with that comes little to no customization.
If you want something more customizable, I just downloaded Notebooks and so far like the interface. While I don’t love the aesthetics of it, the function is spot on. If only someone would make a notes app with a subtle, nature lore-inspired aesthetic featuring muted jewel tones- that I could get behind. But I guess that is oddly specific š
Look around in the Apple or Google Play store and see what suits you. Use it as a way to play around and see what kind of organization you want to try out with pen and paper. Plus, then you’ll have plenty to add to your physical Commonplace Book when you start it. Which leads me to my next point:
But What Do I Write?
You’ve probably already picked up on it by now, but let’s get even more clear.
Keep in mind the goal of Mother Culture is to read, think and remember. Commonplacing is the “thinking and remembering” part. So as you read, it’s a good idea to have your Commonplace Book on hand to write down any quote that strikes you, that puts elusive things into words perfectly, that you want to memorize or further reflect on, or that you want to use on your children or husband in future š
You’ll find a balance as you go between writing down everything and writing down nothing. You can feel out how long of a quote you find helpful and enjoyable to transcribe. Pay attention to which types of quotes you go back to or that come to mind often. And remember that there is no perfect way to do this. The important part is the doing it.
If you feel like you need a place to start, The Literary Life podcast always has the hosts’ Commonplace Quotes from the book in question at the beginning of the episode, or written out on their blog post/transcription of the episode. (I was also just reminded that they have Commonplace Books for sale on their website!)
And in my humble opinion, you can definitely write your own thoughts as well as others’. I personally like to keep a cheap composition notebook as more of a “reading journal”, if you will, for such thoughts, separate from my Commonplace Book, but there are no rules here. Read, think, remember. If writing out your thoughts helps you process them and you don’t find it cumbersome, then by all means, do that.
In Part 3…
We still need to dig into the subject of books and booklists but I’m realizing I might have to go for a whole series and write a Part 3!
In closing, I hope you take away from this that Mother Culture is really very simple and you can start today. Like I said before, a Commonplace Book is a wonderful habit to cultivate, but to practice Mother Culture you really just have to read and think.
I can’t wait to talk all things books next time but for now, grab the book you have and see what you glean from it.
Thanks for reading! See you in the next post š
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