“When you write about a memory you begin to remember more fragments of your life; when you read it to others you remember even more.” ~ Patty Dann
I facilitated our Writing Alone Together Circle today, which is one of our monthly IAJW member events. I often pick a theme or a topic for our writing circles and today’s theme was “world in a word.”
This theme came to me through thinking about how journaling is all about language and words. We express ourselves using words and stories. Words themselves can open a whole world. I often think about this as I write. Last week I was on a camping trip and I was sitting by a river, I started writing about my love of rivers and that led me to writing about memories of a white water rafting trip I took many years ago.
A second inspiration for choosing this theme is a book I am currently reading entitled, The Butterfly Hours – Transforming Memories into Memoir – with prompts for uncovering your life stories by Patty Dann (Shambala, 2016). The book has lessons for writing memoir in it (and these lessons can be used by journal writers too). I love the titles of the lessons as they say so much in just a few words – for example, lesson 1 is Write Out of Love or Anger, lesson 2 is Steal from Yourself, lesson 6 – Time Away from the Computer Is as Important as Time at the Computer, lesson 10 – Be Bold, Be Bolder... and so forth.
In this book, Patty Dann teaches writers to use what she calls the “one word memory trigger.” It is as a simple as it sounds, pick a word, any word and then write the memories that this word sparks in you.
Through doing this, you will see that there is a whole world in a word.
In our writing circle today, these were among the single words that served as our journal writing prompts:
I offered these single word prompts…
River
Pineapple
Table
Individuals in our group offered…
Cat
Parsley
Jog
My writing from the single word prompt: RIVER
Please note, this is unedited journaling that flowed from a 5 minute timed writing using the single word “river” as my journaling prompt…
RIVER
I remember getting up with you at 4:00 am, in the cold early morning to bundle in warm jackets as we gathered our fishing rods, Thermos of hot chocolate, and your tackle box. I was 16 years old and you were 19, you were my first love.
I know it was love because there is no way I would have got up at 4:00 am on a Sunday morning, after working late at McDonald’s the night before, to go stand along the edge of a river, with pieces of ice floating by on its surface, to go fishing, when I didn’t even care to fish, even on a hot summer’s day. This would not have happened if it weren’t for love.
It makes me wonder about all the things I have done in the name of love in my life so far…
go fishing, get married, smoke cigarettes, wear high heels (I prefer running shoes), move across the country, get divorced, hike in grizzly country, swim naked, have babies, wipe away tears, stay up all night until you died in my arms the next morning, buy the plane tickets because it might be the last time I ever see you again, walk away, turn around, listen, hold your hand under the covers, wash your back in the bath tub each morning, give up, give in, eat a raw oyster, pay a big phone bill for a long distance love, drive all night to get home, listen to every word of Van Morrison, pour your morning coffee with the first pull, never listen to the Tragically Hip again, make bacon over an open fire in the woods, go hungry, wait for hunger to pass, it never does
Love is a river flowing through a million moments. It’s a strong current keeping life afloat.
Your turn…
Pick a word from the single word prompts above or pick a word of your own. Set a timer for 5 minutes and write freely, wherever the prompt takes you. Let memories, moments, and stories flow.
Don’t stop to edit or censor yourself. Just trust the impulse from that single word and write.
Please share your writing in the comments below.
We learn from each other’s stories.
Thank you and enjoy.
Author: Lynda Monk is the Director of the International Association for Journal Writing. She is passionate about the healing and transformational power of journaling and story. She lives with her husband, Peter, two teen sons, Jackson and Jesse, and their beloved Golden Retriever, Sadie, who have all taught her so much about the constantly flowing river of love in day-to-day life.
Beautiful writing that comes of one word. What a gift you have with words, my friend!
Thank you, Sandi. I think back to your The Story You Need to Tell course often.
Wow! That is powerful writing.
Thank you, Mary. I hope to see you on the journaling path ahead.
Here is the brief portion of my piece on “pineapple” that spoke to me the most: “Like the pineapple, prickly on the outside and sweet on the inside, we must find a way to get past the brusque exteriors of our harshest neighbors to find the sweetness inside. How can we learn to break through the tough outer layer to get to the goodness, the brightness within?”
I really enjoyed the World Within Words prompts and will be playing with it more in future journaling sessions. Thanks so much for the idea.
Hi Courtney, thank you for sharing your writing. Here’s to finding the sweetness within!
(I’m not a native English speaker/writer, so forgive me funny “errors”)
I picked the pineapple and here is the result:
The most beautiful things in life are often hidden behind a “packaging”. Maybe that’s not the right way to put it. I think a hard skin often hides the sweet fruit is an even better description. You know those fruits, they have a hard shell, and you have to make an effort to peel them off. But if you succeed, then you enjoy the end result even more.
A nice example is the famous pineapple. A fruit that you can eat, but you can also use it to prepare delicious drinks and cocktails. However, the peel of the pineapple is a challenge. At least for me. I’m not very handy with those things.
But spiritually speaking, it is a beautiful symbol: if you give it some time and attention to carefully peel off the hard shell of that pineapple, the fruit will come out in all its glory. And you enjoy the sweet reward that was waiting for you all along. Just like life itself. Often we go through hard times before we reap the benefits of all our problems, challenges, obstacles, etc. And then we finally get to enjoy the reward.
That pineapple is a beautiful symbol of this. If you like pineapples, of course. So every time I have to peel a “tricky” fruit, like a pineapple (but there are plenty of examples), I think of that analogy to life.
Hi Anja, I love how you share the pineapple as a metaphor for life!
Lynda Monk after being inspired about a whole world in one word I came across this that I wrote last year around the word Symphony.
I’m writing two stories around the word River from different perspectives which I’m happy to share.
The symphony of the night sky, music that matches the symphony of the heart.
Every instrument, voice and sound, it whispers, calls and sometimes shouts.
Open your heart and let the rhythm of all that is, all that ever was and will be permeate every cell so your whole body can dance the dance of the universe.
Singular yet together we’re harmony, we’re percussion, we’re soft and gentle sounds.
We melt into a force of nature, everything is ours to enjoy, never alone, never not wanted, all are loved , all are love.
Love is who we truly are and as brilliant as the night sky we shine together.
Jill.C.Brown
“Love is who we truly are.” I love this! Thank you for beautiful writing and reflections.
River pulls memory to experiencing the quienshing flow of water of Colorado rivers. The cold breath taking effect to the feet as you enter the water. Moments later the aha and the hop skip and jumping begins across an invissble pattern of rocks.. A joy filled moment can’t help but to gigglle outloud and from inside wonderfully refreshing delectable.
Beautiful! I love all the sensory details in your writing. Thanks for sharing.