A creative journaling practice

Gratitude, grief, and expressing what matters most

It’s finally feeling like autumn.

It’s as though the calendar struck “November” and all of creation dropped its shoulders and said, “Finally.” Summer has slipped into yesterday and we’ve been privileged enough to welcome cool days, changing leaves, and the need for bonfires.

This felt change of weather marks other transitions too. We’re transitioning into the holiday season, filled with cozy vibes, good food, gift exchanges and time with loved ones. I’m also thinking of the transition from one working year to the next, evaluating which projects will go with me into the new year and which need to be brought to conclusion before year’s end. I only have five full weeks of work left this calendar year, and I’m wondering how to make the most of it without pushing for a level of productivity that is out of alignment with the earth’s rhythm.

As we welcome a new month, a change in season, the end of one year and the beginning of another, I’m wondering: how do we remain present while honoring the excitement, possibility, and unknown of welcoming the future? If you, like me, are interested in remaining anchored in the present while making mental, emotional, and spiritual space for the good things you hope will be true in the coming year, here is a creative journaling practice you may find supportive.

The creative journaling practice

I’ve written before about how essential my journaling practice is to remaining grounded, spiritually aware, and emotionally present in my daily life. I need a place to put all of the words and feelings I have bouncing around, and the pages of my journal are the most gentle and reliable landing place.

Over the past year or so, I’ve taken my journaling practice to a new level in terms of creative expression, incorporating stickers, washi tapes, cuts outs from magazines, stamps and more. I’ve found that expressing myself in this way is not only joyful, but it helps me linger a bit longer in the artfulness of putting a pen to the page.

For this creative journaling practice, I’ve outlined three simple steps you can take. The first are more reflective. They speak to the inner work you do as you go about your life, running errands, doing your job, talking with loved ones, and the like. The last step is where the art of it comes together.

If you try this, please let me know how it goes.

Step One - Pay attention to the good things.

Gratitude has the power to change atmospheres. It rewires your brain. It roots your being in the beauty of the world and reminds you of what’s worth saving, protecting and living for. A gentle “thank you,” practice can halt anxiety in its tracks. When I find myself spiraling out about the future, or even about problems happening right here and right now, noticing and naming the million little miracles around me reminds my soul that beautiful things have come from ashes before, and that it can and will happen again. Paying attention the good things establishes a foundation of hope and joy from which to plan and prepare for the future.

Step one is this creative journaling practice is to notice the good things, to hold them closely in your heart and mind, and to let them wash over you with the grace that gratitude so often brings.

Step Two - Notice where the pain is.

Pain and grief are also wise teachers. Even though I’d rather push my grief, disappointments, and losses to the margins, they too point me towards what I love, what I need, what I most hope for. For example, I’m grieving that another holiday season is upon us and we don’t yet have a baby to hold in our arms. I’m also grieving friendships I’ve lost, or that have simply changed, since my religious conversion. This grief lives with me, and while I don’t love how it feels in my gut or in my chest, I know it’s teaching me how to remain connected to what I want for my future.

Step two in this practice is to take note of where you’re carrying pain or grief in your body or in your heart. We don't often have quick remedies for these things, nor should we. But there is a sweetness that comes with telling the truth and speaking these losses and longings out loud.

Pay attention to the good things. Notice where the pain is. Be as honest and gentle as you can muster about both. Holding the good alongside the painful is the only way to be truly present in this life.

Step Three - Artfully put your observations on the page.

Gather your tools and start journaling, but instead of simply writing, consider the colors you want to use. Consider how you might place stickers in a corner or create a line with a piece of pretty tape. Consider cutting a picture out of a magazine, one that captures the mood of how you’re feeling more than any words ever could. Make a collage of it, or not. You can really make whatever you’d like. The invitation here is to be intentional about the insights you’re capturing by using various colors, images, font types, calligraphy styles, and sticker choices.

By journaling in a visually creative way, you’ll be amazed to notice which impressions or ideas linger. What was once just an item on your gratitude list, through artful expression, can take on a life of its own. It may become an anchoring theme for the year ahead or it may help you decide where you want to invest more energy.

Here is an early October snapshot from my creative journaling practice. I’ve blurred out the personal stuff which definitely diminishes the effect, but I wanted to give you a sense of what I’m attempting to describe here. This particular spread was very word-heavy, featuring some poetry, stream-of-consciousness writing, and brainstorming. You’ll see how I used a few stickers, stamps, and washi tape to create sections. Again, this is a simple, word-heavy example, but hopefully you get the idea.

Forgive me for the poor lighting and low image quality here. Your girl is a writer, not a photographer. 😂

Here is a second example, featuring a collage I made about seven years ago.

As you can see, it's almost all images I pulled from a magazine (an older edition of Flow Magazine, to be specific.) Instead of making a traditional plan for the year ahead, I chose instead to gather images that spoke to who I wanted to become and how I wanted to become her. This one hangs on my office wall now. I pause and stare at it often. It captures my values and aspirations better than any written exercise has to date.

What I love about a collage, or an image-forward journaling practice, is that images have a distinct way of conveying depth and meaning. I love words, but sometimes it’s an image of a steaming cup of tea or of a horse eating in a field at golden hour that most adequately conveys what the soul needs.

The purpose of the creative journaling practice is the practice itself. It’s all about the process of making. There is an intimacy with the self that becomes available to us when we practice paying attention to our lives and giving expression to the inner movements that make us who we are.

If you find yourself in need of a moment to slow down, to pay attention, and to consider all this year has held for you, I hope you’ll give this practice a try.

Let me know how it goes, or if you have any questions.

Much love, friends.

Bethaney