Journals from the Heart

Recently, I joined a Writing Group. This wonderful group of ladies (and a few gentlemen) meet weekly to share stories and to support each other in writing the stories of their lives. Some of the members are writing their entire life stories, some are just writing on topics they find interesting or that will enlighten and amuse the next generation, and some are using the writing as a way to sort through the ups and downs of everyday lives - more like a diary or journal. Whatever the reason, this lively group comes from all walks of life, and meet together for a few hours each week to share the laughter, tears, heartaches, and shared memories many of us have growing up in middle class America.

I was surprised at the wide spectrum of experiences and stories. I listened as stories unfolded of our memories of learning how to drive, driving boyfriends' cars into the ditch, travel stories, being naughty (very important for future generations to hear), descriptions of life growing up on the farm, early memories of our first homes, traumatic events that had been supressed, and light hearted looks at all the events of our lives that make us who we are. These were great stories, great to hear, and the writing was excellent. The stories were real, full of poignancy, humor, and grace under fire. In short, they were the stories of real people's lives, and I thoroughly enjoyed them all and meeting the folks behind the stories.

The most important point the leaders seemed to make is that you didn't have to be an accomplished writer in order to write your own story. Some asked, why write these stories, but as I listened, I began to recall snippets of memory from my own childhood and early adulthood that I realized were events that our kids and grandkids would never experience. This alone is a great reason to commit your story to writing. How I would have loved to have read stories about the life of my grandmother as a young girl, or to read my great grandfather's diary of the First World War. I realized that although we may not feel our stories are special or even memorable, future generations might be more interested in our lives than we think.

I'd like to encourage you mature adults out there to commit your stories to paper if you haven't already started. With the current craze for geneaology and storytelling, you might just make a lasting memory for a generation yet to come.

Remember, it's your story, and only you can tell it accurately. Give it a try and let me know if you too, don't get a great deal of enjoyment walking down memory lane. This would make a true gift of the heart to your children or grandchildren someday.

If like me, you also like to draw or paint, why not make it a picture book, or add some photos. Get as creative as you like, but get it down on paper!

Sharon

The Heart of the Journey

Life is a sacred journey, and at its center is our heart. The journey is about change, growth, discovery, movement, transformation, continuously expanding our vision of what is possible, stretching our souls, learning to see clearly and deeply. It is about listening to our intuition, taking courageous challenges at every step along the way. We are continually on the path... exactly where we are meant to be in that moment... and from there, we can only go forward, shaping our life story into a magnificent tale of triumph, of healing, of courage, of beauty, of wisdom, of power, of dignity, and of love.

My favorite symbols are labyrinths because they are both new and ancient and they relate to wholeness. A labyrinth is an ancient symbol with which we can have a current, direct experience. We can walk it, we can trace it with our finger, we can linger in its center and contemplate our past and our future. It is a metaphor for life's journey. It is a symbol that creates a sacred space and place and takes us out of our ego to "That Which Is Within." A labyrinth combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. The Labyrinth represents a journey to our own center and back again out into the world. Labyrinths have long been used as meditation and prayer tools.

Labyrinths and mazes have often been confused. When most people hear of a labyrinth they think of a maze. A labyrinth is not a maze. A maze is like a puzzle to be solved. It has twists, turns, and blind alleys. It is a left brain task that requires logical, sequential, analytical activity to find the correct path into the maze and out. A labyrinth has only one path. It is unicursal. The way in is the way out. There are no blind alleys. The path leads you on a circuitous path to the center and out again. A labyrinth is a right brain task. It involves intuition, creativity, and imagery. With a maze many choices must be made and an active mind is needed to solve the problem of finding the center. With a labyrinth there is only one choice to be made. The choice is to enter or not. A more passive, receptive mindset is needed. The choice is whether or not to walk a spiritual path.

Sometimes it's not the destination that is important, it is the journey.

Happy Journeying.

Sharon

Passing the Torch

As August draws to a close, and September starts, I have finished a few more pages for my friendship journal and am preparing to send it off to my friend, Judy. It will now be her turn to craft some pages for the month of September, and when she is done, I will get it back to read and add more pages. I love this idea more and more. I hope she enjoys looking at these pages as much as I have enjoyed making them. These pages are about our art journey together and all the things she loves. The passion page is about our mutual love of books. She collects frogs and also collects dolls, and these pages remind me of all the fun trips we took to Kansas City shopping. What a fun days those were! I really miss her.