We all write imagined stories for how we want our lives to go. But our stories are never written how we want or imagine. They include chapters of difficult change and unforeseen moments of painful loss that we would never have authored for ourselves. Sometimes we think the Author has made a great mistake in how the events of our life unfold. When our stories break from our imagined or hoped-for narratives, we feel that break in the plotline within ourselves.
I have experienced many painful events that I wish would never have happened. I’m sure you have too. I’d say it is a universal human reaction to have this innate feeling that when something Awful happens, the story has played out incorrectly.1 Though perhaps common, rejecting our realities is one of the greatest hindrances to our healing and can prevent us from living healthy, whole lives. This resistance keeps us stuck. It holds us prisoner.
As I write this prompt at the start of a new year, many of us are reflecting on the past year's events, perhaps wrestling with how our stories unfolded or wondering how we will turn the page and be present for this year’s new chapter.
For this month’s Pen & Mend journal prompt, I want to share a tool that has helped me find healing in my life, one that makes room to hold both acceptance and hope, and one that I incorporate into my daily journal practice and want to offer you.
Try this prompt once, and then see if you can weave its framework into your journal practice this year. Remember, the more we write in healing ways, the more we help our brains create new neural pathways and the more we experience inner healing and hope.