Love Light and Joy

What do you do when you’re in emotional pain? Events, loss and the thoughtless actions of those you love can literally bring you to your knees! What do you do? do you pray? Pour your heart out to a trusted confidant? Maybe you cry and lick your wounds in private because you want to always appear strong and indomitable?

Although I try to be stoic and unfazed, there were a few times in my life when I completely fell apart. I can still vividly recall my despair, that empty aching black hole in the center of my being. Did I ever fully recover? Did the black hole scab over and disappear? Who knows? Maybe I built a wall around it, high enough to safeguard myself from ever falling prey to any circumstances that may reopen that wound.

Over time I have become convinced that this is a common thread interwoven in each of our stories. We all build fortresses around our vulnerabilities and like primitive creatures, we lash out with barred teeth whenever a threat is perceived. For some of us our fortress may also be keeping good things at bay, locking out every bit of love, light and joy. The constant struggle to maintain this façade can be pushing loved ones away and can also be detrimental to our overall health and well being. What if told you that there may be a much simpler solution?

According to the The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Body/Mind Disciplines “Journal therapy is the purposeful and intentional use of reflective writing to further mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health and wellness. It offers an effective means of providing focus and clarity to issues, concerns, conflicts and confusions.”

It is no wonder I have been hearing so much about the many benefits of journal therapy. I gather that this practice has been around for centuries although not always for therapeutic benefit but to aid organized and rational thought. In fact according to Clark Kegley, the main reasons men should journal is to remain confident, purposeful and focused on their goals!

Armed with this new knowledge, I presented my sister with this journal on Mother’s Day hoping it would encourage her to finish writing the best seller she started a year ago! Imagine my surprise when she told me that she had kept journals for years! She randomly selected one of her journals and read an entry aloud, it was actually about me!

Now I am firmly convinced that journal therapy is definitely something to consider. It could be beneficial for emotional health and wellness and could also chronicle the events that profoundly impact our lives! Just imagine opening your journal 10 years from today to reflect upon your own thoughts and fears surrounding a world wide pandemic, social distancing and an uncertain future! What thoughts on humanity would you have written? especially as racism rears its ugly head in the midst of the surreal upheaval?

These are stressful times for everyone, we need to give ourselves permission to take a breath and stop worrying incessantly about the myriad of things we cannot change! We owe it to ourselves to practice self-care and remember that ignoring a physical or mental problem does more harm than good! So be kind to yourself, let the love, light and joy in! Take care of yourself physically – by eating healthy meals, exercising and resting. Take care of yourself mentally – by giving yourself permission to stop worrying, take deep breaths and relax – and maybe if you feel like it you can even start a journal!