|
by Megan Cutter
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt you,” so the saying goes. Words can hurt, but they also have the power to heal. Sometimes writing them down is easier than speaking to someone, or the written word can jump start a conversation that would have never happened.
After my mother died, I did not write anything for over a year. Then, all at once, I had to get down every story, every detail of what I could remember. About her, our relationship, her death, and the epiphanies in the time after her death. Walking through the house realizing that I now owned it. Eating chocolate chip pancakes on Sunday mornings. Finding letters that were written between my father and mother before their divorce. Looking at her faults and her strengths. Looking at what I was going to do now.
Most of these stories will never be published. They are little jewels of recorded history, to learn from so that I could move on with my life. It is easy to get stuck in history. History is only useful if we look at what happened and learn from it. And move on.
Creative journaling, free writing in a journal, or the use of writing prompts is a great way to explore the intricate details of our lives and to look at where we are going.
|
