The Power of Journaling
Why Keep Rehashing the Past?
I’ve kept a journal since I was eleven years old. So, when I started leading retreats many years ago — helping people learn tools and practices for wellbeing — I naturally included journaling in these programs.
I’d guide people through a calming meditation practice, and then invite them to journal about whatever was going on for them at the time.
Many people who attended my retreats were going through some big life changes — some of them traumatic and painful.
Why Rehash the Past?
During one retreat, a woman approached me after the session with a dubious look on her face.
She said, “I have tried writing my whole life. I’ll try this for the sake of trying but I have to be honest…identifying what causes my pain is the reason I can’t bear to live anymore. Journaling will not EVER change what has happened. The best I can hope for is to get through it. I stay alive for my kids. The pain will never go away. Sorry, but I just don’t see how rehashing my pain will help a damn thing and I refuse to get dragged under the bus by false hope again.”
This woman left the retreat and I never heard from her again.
