One of the exercises we completed was The Unsent Letter. Yes, I've written letters over the years to people I was angry with, and then promptly tore the letters up. Yes, that felt good and it helped to get thoughts on paper and mind uncluttered. So it wasn't all new to me.
For this particular exercise, we were encouraged to choose a person, an entity, an event, or even our younger selves - something that's been weighing heavy in our thoughts recently - and to write for 20 minutes without stopping, an 'emotional download' of sorts, uncensored. I had someone in mind and had no trouble spending 20 minutes writing. This really allowed me to clean up my poor ol' brain. Sometimes thoughts are much like a tangled mess of yarn! Then, when that was done, we were encouraged to write a letter back to ourselves from the one we had written to. Now THAT was interesting. How was I to know how this person would respond to my letter? But, I set my preconceived ideas aside (as much as I could) and began writing. Interestingly, I found it helpful. I was able to see a little more clearly from their point of view.
Have you ever written an unsent letter, uncensored?
Do you journal? Do you use writing prompts to help you grow creatively? Got any book recommendations?
A few of my faves:
That is an interesting writing assignment! I have written a lot of uncensored letters in my head, LOL, not on paper. It would be interesting to write back what someone's response would be if they received such a letter! I do a paper journal of such, incorporating it with my prayer journal. I still need to figure out what to do with all of them upon my passing (i.e. leave instructions to loved ones how to dispose of them). I'm thinking a bonfire could be a good way, some incriminating stuff in them.
ReplyDeletebetty
I haven't journaled in years but it definitely helped when I did. And now I wish I had those journals to look back over different parts of my life!
ReplyDeleteDo I journal? Pashaw, I'm Journaling Woman! The answer is yes. 😛
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