Pens and Ink: TWSBI Al green with Montblanc Jonathan Swift

As some of you might know, TWSBI releases some Limited Edition specials from time to time and there was one special edition I was really into, the TWSBI AL Green, which was released in a small batch earlier this year. It took me a while to find it, as it seemed to be sold out everywhere, but with some luck and Google-Fu I found out they had one left at Scrittura Elegante, a stationery shop based in the Netherlands. So after not too long of a wait, the pen arrived and I excitedly tried to pick a color to match the beautiful body!

I decided a nice mossy green would suit the pen body well. The mossy greens above I thought would make a great match; Montblanc Jonathan Swift (seaweed green), Montblanc Daniel Defoe (palm Green) and Sailor Tokiwa Matsu (evergreen pine). The swabs are done on Maruman Word cards, by the way. It was a difficult choice but in the end I sent with Jonathan Swift because I had not yet used that ink in a pen before, so it was high time I break in the bottle!

I requested a B nib on my TWSBI Al Green as I have almost all the range of the nibs in the TWSBI line up, except for this one. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with the line width as it isn't as broad as I hoped it would be. In writing this B nib looks more like a Pelikan steel medium to me. But still, it's not that bad, the ink flow keeps up well and does bring out the shading in this JS seaweed green. See a review of the TWSBI AL Green by ArtGlen on youtube to know more about the pen.

It's been a emotional week in many aspects and it's in these difficult times we need to keep our compassion high and cultivate empathy, no matter how difficult it can be. Writing the Loving Kindness Metta Meditation in my journal on a daily basis helps to gain focus and center my compassion. Carving out pockets of time to sit down and write down a hopeful, loving warm wish into the world, may not seem like much, but it's sometimes the only thing I can do to help alleviate my sorrow. In Buddhist terms sending out a positive compassionate wish to help people whom are suffering creates connectivity and empathy. If you want to know more about this, I highly recommend the book "A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to Be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives" written by Thupten Jinpa the official English translator of his holiness the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatzo. I was lucky enough to attend a workshop about compassion and a book reading by Thupten Jinpa earlier this year in May (read about it in the last paragraph here) and it was really inspiring as it was hopeful. In this world we're being confronted with large extremes nearly every day, with practicing/cultivating this meditation technique, I hope to send out more compassion to those whom need it.

This quote from the Dalai Lama is encouraging and definitely struck a chord:

“Hard times build determination and inner strength. Through them we can also come to appreciate the uselessness of anger. Instead of getting angry nurture a deep caring and respect for troublemakers because by creating such trying circumstances they provide us with invaluable opportunities to practice tolerance and patience.” his holiness the Dalai Lama XIV

Something to ponder on with my next meditation session...

Thank you for stopping by and wishing you all a wonderful day.

namasté