I hope your holiday celebrations have been filled with magic moments – moments you want to remember. Or moments when you realized a truth about yourself or a family member. Or even moments of sadness, when you felt a loss or remembered a happier time.
If you had such moments this holiday season, take a moment to jot down them down. Just a line or two for now.
Then, each week in the new year, take thirty minutes to flesh out one of your memories. Expand on the facts as much as you can remember, noting all five senses. What did you see . . . hear . . . taste . . . smell . . . feel? Where did it happen? What time of day? Who else was there?
But don’t stop with the facts. Write about your emotions, both how you felt as the event occurred, and how you feel again as you write about the event.
This writing is not for publication. It is just for you – to remember a moment that had an impact on you, and to reflect on what it meant for you, and what it will mean for your life going forward. Was this incident unique or part of a pattern in your life?
Whether you ever decide to edit and publish this work is up to you. For now, just reflect on your memories and their meaning to you. Savor them, the positive and the negative.
My journal
And if this is a helpful practice, start a journal. You can use the journal to write about moments from the past, and new moments as they occur.
Julia Cameron’s book The Vein of Gold talks about searching our lives for our creativity. If you want to write, try reading this book and her other works.
What have you found helpful in writing about your life?
