Journaling: Moving Through Loss

Sister Loss

My sister passed away shortly before this past Christmas. I was numb and afraid.  Numb because it was sort of expected. She was very ill. Afraid – because I knew her death would have a profound effect on me. However, the cancer surgeon said the surgery was a success, so I had hope. Her body though was just too weak to carry on.

As an emotional empath, I knew that I would be overwhelmed with the emotions of her passing in a way others couldn’t possibly comprehend. If you are unsure what an empath is, Dr. Judith Orloff a pioneer in the field, describes an empath as someone whose nervous system is so sensitive that they take in surrounding energies and emotions from others in their environment. They also have heightened sensitivity to everything that can be sensed – noise, light, smells, and taste . Therefore, coping with loss, as an empath, is very taxing. Not only are you dealing with your own strong emotions, but the emotions absorbed from others as well. 

So I did what I usually do when faced with loss, I shut down and buried my head in the sand. Unfortunately, this was not the best choice. My grief was begging to be seen in the light of day, appearing in the least opportune times, i.e., at the grocery store, in the post office. I needed to find a way where I could express the bottled up feelings safely before they got the best of me. 

Art Journaling

In the beginning of this year, I was gifted an art journaling class. I am a writer and knew nothing about art journaling.  I can’t even draw a stick figure.  My expressions and thoughts were always written out and recorded the traditional way, in a lined journal. However, strangely enough, the universe told me to go for it.  The course was Wanderlust 2020. It looked like so much fun that my cousin, who is a cardmaker, decided to enroll in the course as well and she is having so much fun.

Wanderlust 2020 is an amazing year-long course taught by 27 different teachers. Each week there is a wonderful lesson. and a private Facebook group to post our creations. For those of you who are wondering what is art journaling. It is a form of expression where you record your thoughts and ideas in a journal in a visual way. This is done with paints, watercolors, crayons, colored pencils, chalk – just about anything.

During the second week of the course, my cousin and I were in awe. I drew a portrait of my great-grandmother and she did a lovely portrait of her mom. These were painted drawings and not stick figures. We didn’t think we could draw anything. It has been 13 weeks since the course started and we have created some fun things in our art journals. We love working with the various acrylics, colored pencils, watercolors, and collage papers. In this mixed media course, anything goes. 

Most importantly however, is that it is helping me cope with the difficult emotions of my loss. I am honoring my sister’s life, and not the sadness of her passing, directly onto the journaling page. She loved hearts and I can feel her in these pages.

Traditional Journaling

Since I was a young girl, I have written my thoughts down in a bound journal. I still have the diary and key, but I haven’t opened it up since I wrote in it decades ago. I may do that one day. However my current practice, which as a writer, I enjoy immensely, was getting stale. Six weeks ago, I also decided to enroll in a course taught by lovely Londoner, Susannah Conway called Journal Your Life. 

Journal Your Life is a 6-week in-depth course and Susannah breaks the course down into 6 weeks of immersion in the different areas of our lives. In the first week, we prepared for the exciting journey. We chose our journals and learned and practiced some of the key journaling techniques. In the second week, we explored our inner self. In the third week, our outer self. We spent week 4 exploring our life’s purpose. Week 5 was my favorite. We examined our dreams. In the last week we delved into our thoughts, beliefs, and rituals; our inner wisdom. It was a wonderful course and I not only learned a lot about myself, but I also learned some cool new ways to journal my thoughts.

The course was a lot of fun and jammed packed with journaling prompts, peeks into Susannah’s journals, and interviews with other journalers. We also received a gorgeous 123-page e-book of the entire course. Susannah said that journaling was the foundation for everything she created in her life. Her journaling practice helped her get through the tragic loss of her partner. I therefore knew this course was for me. I was right!

New Best Friends

As the weeks pass since my sister’s passing, my emotions have been calmer, and my grieving process has become easier.  My journals have turned out to be my new best friends.

Letter writing is another method to release bottled-up grief and emotions. This lost art is trying to make a comeback and I wish it would .Consider journaling through trying times. If not through traditional journaling, art journaling or even letter writing. You will be surprised just how better it can make you feel. Happy Journaling!

(Featured top image credit: Photo by StockSnap is available under the Creative Commons CCO.1.0 license on Pixabay.com