Ten Journal Prompts
“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.”
William Wordsworth
Writing is a very personal exercise and there are many ways to use it as a tool to help process our experiences. For some of us, it may be helpful to make a series of lists: a list of losses, thoughts, emotions, memories, plans, ideas, fantasies, and more. Lists are great for organizing and categorizing, and their structure is comforting when things feel like they are spinning out of control. There is also the practice of writing your own lament, which I described in my blog post Leaning into Lament.
Other ideas might include using all your senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, sound) to describe something you miss or long for; like a walk on the beach, a hug, or a trip to the supermarket without wearing a mask. Remember there are no rules and my only admonishment is to give it a try: start with 20 minutes a day for 4 consecutive days, unless it becomes a practice you enjoy, in which case - write on! Should you like me to accompany you on this journey, please schedule a consultation, join one of my Transition over Tea groups, or consider doing a writing workshop with me. Otherwise find a quiet place, pick up your pen, choose a prompt and begin.
10 Journal Prompts:
Each day…
Since we’ve had to stay-in-place, I find myself…
I feel bad that…
The hardest part is…
Sometimes I wonder…
Today my grief feels like…
Dear…
I hope for…
I’m grateful for…
I wish…
You might find it more helpful to answer 10 questions:
What are some of your most significant losses?
What changes are you most affected by?
What was one emotional reaction you had that surprised you?
What are some of the negative/positive thoughts you’re experiencing?
What are your priorities in life and how have you seen them change, if at all?
What decisions do you wish you could have made, had you known this was coming?
What is helping you cope with this situation?
What do you really want from life?
What dreams/convictions/talents/ideas would go unrealized if your life ended today?
What are you thankful for?
Alpha Poems as a Journaling Tool:
Writing or reading poetry can be a way to express your emotions, or see them reflected in another’s words. Alpha Poems are a great way to challenge your mind by finding words starting with every letter of the alphabet to write your poem. It becomes a problem-solving exercise or a game and can help us to lighten up or let go as it gets us out of our habitual thinking mode. Put the letters A to Z vertically down a page. Pick a topic to write about or a question to answer. Now start writing sentences where the first word of the sentence begins with A, the next, B, and so on. I have included an example below from an article by Kathleen Adams.
Grief, (by Taylor)
A crushing
below
calls from deep inside
driving to be heard
ever so
frightening, ever so demanding,
grief
hits with a tornado’s force
igniting the fire,
jarring the senses
kicking the safety and comfort away.
Lamenting the loss, the pain
mere words cannot begin to describe.
No, words cannot do justice to the
once-held, once-loved, always remembered
passion. ‘Tis
queer this experience
required in life.
Solace can be found
tonight, tomorrow-
until once again the
vine of death crawls in my
window, playing the
xylophone of harmony lost.
Yes, I will go on. you will never be
Zero.