“I’ve learned first-hand,” says author Barbara Nickless, “that writing is a powerful tool for healing. My life has been pockmarked with tragedy—a wildfire that took everything. My brilliant mother’s slide into dementia. My father’s suicide.”
We’re living in a time of chaos, and we need a place to channel the churning thoughts that swirl in our heads all day. One safe space is a journal.
In my upcoming manuscript for struggling writers, I discuss the importance of journaling, as a place to simply start writing, as well as a haven for unedited thoughts. One of the multiple benefits of journaling is that it’s low logistics and cost. All you need is pen and paper and a little time.
Time is often the biggest challenge because life always gets in the way. In this case, however, writing is not a luxury but a form of therapy, a place where you can quietly sit, phone free, and simply be with yourself and your thoughts.
The Morning Pages, from The Artists Way, is a fantastic journaling tool: three pages handwritten without stopping. Why no stops? Because that’s when the “self editor” shows up. Ideally, Morning Pages are done at the start of the day, but many of us cannot do this.
A great place to start is on the weekends, if you can.
“When I suddenly remember a beloved object lost in the wildfire,” Nickless writes, “I will sit and write about that object and why it has meaning for me. Often, the object’s value is tied to someone I love, and writing about that person—even when they’re gone—settles me.”
We could all use some settling right now.