Journal with Me: Connect Through Stories

In last week’s blog, I shared my love of how letters help us to connect with and also celebrate the people you love and care about. The center of all great letters are stories. Stories about the person you’re writing to, stories of how that person had an impact on you or helped you, stories about experiences or love you shared, and more.

Think about when you meet somebody new. You may share some chit-chat about what you do and how old your kids are, if you have them, or where you grew up, but it’s when you start sharing your stories that you begin to build lasting relationships. 

Then as you begin spending more time together, you create new stories through adventures and mishaps and shared experience. These stories continue deepening the connections you built by sharing stories in the first place.

The stories of everyday experiences of making mistakes, helping a friend, trying and failing and getting back up, receiving support, struggling to learn something new, having an adventure all add up to the rich fabric of our lives and the way we are interwoven with others.

Sharing your stories helps you know other people more deeply. Shared stories are part of what holds you together with special people in your life. 

Today I invite you to write one story about a friend, relative or other person dear to you. Think about a time that is particularly memorable, a time involving both of you. Close your eyes, feel the memory, imagine the other person in your mind. 

Now journal about:

• Where were you
• Why were you there
• What were you and the other person wearing and doing
• What was the weather like
• What did you or the other person say
• What did you see, hear, smell, taste, feel on your skin, feel in your heart

After you have the facts and feelings down on paper, reflect on why this memory is important, why it might be a story you’d like to share with the person you chose. 

• What makes this story memorable?
• What does this memory mean to you?
• What did you learn?
• What are you grateful for in this story?
• What does it tell you about the person or about your relationship?
• How would it feel to share this story with the person you chose?

Sharing this story with your person is optional, but I encourage you to do so. Sharing stories is a powerful way to connect and also let the other person feel seen and honored.

Want to learn how to discover, write and share these stories with people you care about? Join me in an intimate two hour workshop on letter writing to connect with the people who matter to you. We’ll learn and practice storytelling and then use your stories to create a special letter to someone you care about. Join me November 17 for Write into Joy – Letters to Connect. Only 6 spots, so sign up now.

Write Into Joy

• Use journaling as a tool to unlock wisdom from your life
• Experience more gratitude, awe, and wonder through reflection
• Discover your own resilience and create a roadmap for future challenges

Click below for pricing and upcoming dates.