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The Case For Expressive Writing
Is it possible that allegorical journaling has wellbeing benefits that could be scientifically proven? That is definitely a question that I am committed to exploring. Once I realised that I was feeling consistent advantages from my allegorical journaling sessions, it sparked my curiosity. I like to consider myself to be both self-aware and open to…
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The Ash Tree’s Burden
In the valley, a proud ash tree stood quietly at the edge of the meandering river. An ancient bridge straddled the river. It was built long before the ash tree had even pushed its first green shoot through the ground. No-one could remember who had built it but many depended on the bridge to get…
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Guided Reflection: The Waiting Room
As part of my mission to make allegorical journaling accessible to others, I am devising a range of supplementary resources to support self-reflection. As part of this, I am starting to create some pre-written pieces to be used as a self-reflection tool. Unlike traditional journaling prompts, which start with a direct question about your own…
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The Moth
The moth looked at her drab brown wings. She sighed longingly. The butterflies were so beautiful in comparison. Their colours danced in the sunlight, reflecting every colour of the rainbow and she only got to sit hiding in the darkness. It just didn’t seem fair. So she started to plan. She painted her wings in…
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The Shore and the Sea
The shore was so insecure. She knew she had found a good friend in the sea. Whatever the sea’s mood, its waves greeted the shore with a comforting consistency, sometimes with a gentle ripple, other times crashing down with an anger and fury caused by the conditions surrounding it. But the shore had been let…
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The Walled Garden
On the edge of the hills, where few travellers wandered and fewer people called a home, there lived a woman. The woman liked the stillness of her home because, for some reason, being alone made her feel less lonely. During the summers, tourists would arrive with their demands and their questions. It distracted her peace…
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The Seeds of a Concept
I have journaled on and off, with various degrees of success, since I was a child. I have many notebooks in my home that have five or ten pages’ worth of entries before being abandoned for a different journaling method or a fancier notebook. Throughout the years, I have used metaphor and imagery to express…
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The Valley of Gifts
The confused girl wandered aimlessly around the neverending valley. Despite the fact that the valley guided her journey she encountered unexpected obstacles along the way. In one moment she could be dealing with a laughing hyena trying to play tricks on her. In the next stretch of the journey, angry crows would be trying to…
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The Rejected Well Keeper
The well keeper had been wronged. She had worked hard, carefully tending the well, removing weeds and repairing cracks. For many years she had ensured that the water remained fresh and wholesome. She felt proud of what she had achieved. Ensuring that the village had clean water was not a celebrated role like that of…
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The Abandoned Lighthouse
Just off the shore, on the south westerly tip of the island, stood a lighthouse. It had been built many years before, when this part of the seas had been a busy trade route. It had seen huge ships carrying valuable cargo to rich men in elaborate houses. It had also been a guiding light…