Where do personal journeys begin? And what are the triggers that set them in motion? And how is it that writing our journeys so often can serve to heal whatever invisible — but very real — wounds we've been carrying around?
I expect lots of us are familiar with the idea of using writing as catharsis; therapists often assign keeping a journal as "homework" when working with clients. But what is this kind of exploratory writing, really?
Exploratory writing is hard to describe and yet it can feel like to most natural form of self-expression.
Exploratory writing fills that strange crack between writing with a particular purpose and writing for no reason at all; it exists purely as a journey through our thoughts and emotions. And — somehow — it can help heal our wounds. As one of my spiritual Teachers once said: "simply the TELLING of our story can be healing, in and of itself."
Perhaps more than any other kind of writing, it contains a raw honesty that's sometimes hard to fathom from the outside. Some might even squirm a little and think we're moving into the area of inappropriate self-disclosure. But is it, really?
In some ways, it reminds me of the movie "Lost in Translation" which was not really about anything, and yet was one of the most evocative and relatable films ever made... to some people. Ironically, its (commercial) downfall was that it failed to deliver on predictability and clichés.
Exploratory writing doesn't deliver "stories" (although it can) and it certainly doesn't deliver stylish clichés. When done well, it lays us strangely naked to the world... and invites people to empathically and compassionately sit inside our journeys, and perhaps feel a little less alone in their own.
But it's not always predictable.
Sometimes it's like... the strange ennui we might sometimes feel at the thought of the memory of — and longing for — something that never actually happened. I experienced that a couple of days ago when I found myself momentarily longing for a memory of what might have happened if Kristin (a girl I knew in college) and I had chosen to become "a thing" instead of taking the "high ground" and staying true to the people we each were engaged to, respectively.
Sliding Doors. If we choose to make one thing happens it changes the potential for other things to happen.
Sometimes it's the speculation on all the events and experiences that led us to this point where we realize we're about to "do a complete 180" with our lives. Because what we have been doing has taken us insanely far off course, and we have somehow fallen asleep at the wheel.
Exploratory writing is why I blog, and why I read other people's blogs... because these are the authentic human journeys; this is The Internet of People that doesn't concern itself with trading charts, writing code and fixing cars. It's our humanity.
Exploratory writing is a point of connection. When I reconnected with Mrs. Denmarkguy in 2003 (we knew each other as kids and young adults, but lost contact in the mid-1980's), part of the "thread" that led us to each other was our blogs; hers, at the time, among CNN's "top-10 lifestyle blogs" in the world.
Again, it was that raw honesty and authenticity, not the prettified "Hollywood Edition" of life people serve up as the highlight reels of their lives on Facebook... You can't live authentically if you only allow the world to see the "pretty" bits, because what makes us "us" includes all the bits. Including the old wounds and the not very attractive bits.
It's the scars, not the makeup that lends us character.
Thanks for reading, and have a great week ahead!
How about YOU? Do you use writing as catharsis? Are you able (and willing) to lay yourself naked, when exploring your journey? Do you enjoy "human stories," in general? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 20210628 23:13 PDT
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