Nature-inspired journaling

There is something really magical about writing longhand with a pen on paper. It is a skill that is being eroded as we spend more and more time typing, clicking, swiping and doing voice notes and less time actually writing. As a result our fast and furious modern lives are blighted by burgeoning email inboxes we can no longer control and the stress of an expectation of immediate responses from our digital forms of communication, be it email or social media. We have far less time to think and process and certainly less time to work out what our emotions might be trying to tell us. It is exhausting! The slowness of writing longhand allows our brains time to make sense of our circling thoughts, make connections and also gives us space for creativity.

Journaling has been shown to be a really helpful way of making sense of our thoughts and is good for our wellbeing. Being in nature is also excellent for our wellbeing and a very rich source of inspiration. Many famous writers have taken inspiration from nature over the centuries. It makes perfect sense then to put the two together and try some nature-inspired journaling.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a writer, I would encourage you to try this activity and see how you get on. It’s not about creating great prose, its more about being able to express your thoughts. No one else is going to read this. Journaling needs to be a really private thing so you can be true to yourself.

Before you start, get yourself a small notebook or journal. If you choose to do your journaling outside, a hardbacked one would be best. You might prefer to do your writing at home though which is absolutely fine, but in this case, I would suggest you have access to a camera or phone camera when you do the outside part of the activity.

Choose a local greenspace to go for a walk in that has a variety of habitats within it. Go for a walk in your chosen place with the intention of choosing one or more natural things, or an experience that you witness that you are drawn to. For example, a plant, or part of a plant, a bird or animal, a feature such as a pond or group of trees, or maybe you will be lucky enough to witness some interesting animal behaviour or interaction.

Take a leisurely walk through your chosen place with full attention. Keep an eye out as you walk and stop and look at things and take a closer look if you feel so inclined. Often we can be drawn to things without really knowing why. Just go with your instinct over this. If you find something you are drawn to and you have a camera, take a photo or two to capture the memory, but really use your senses and spend time looking, sensing and experiencing this first hand and don’t just rely solely on taking a photo. If you feel drawn to more than one thing great! Choose the one that you feel more drawn to first to journal about and consider doing more than one journaling exercises if you really can’t decide which one to go with.

When the time comes to journal about your chosen natural item – whether at home using the photo as a prompt, or outside there and then in front of it - the journaling practice is much the same.

1. Spend time really looking at your chosen natural object and write a few sentences to describe it. You might need to give some context too. As well as a visual description, don't forget to comment about any sound, texture or smell. Feel free to make a sketch if it helps.

2. Consider how this object/experience makes you feel. Did a strong emotion come up? Can you name that emotion?

3. Reflect on why you think you were drawn to this natural item or experience.

4. Think about whether this object/experience has any resonance in your life situation. Could there be some parallel, or could this be a metaphor of some sort?

5. Finally consider what learning if any you can take from this.

   
   

Reflect on how you found this activity. If you found this helpful, you might want to try this again next time you go for a walk and are drawn to something. Your sub-conscious might be trying to tell you something and journaling can be a great way of taking time to unpick this, making sense of our emotions and processing things in our busy urban lives.

‘Journal writing, when it becomes a ritual for transformation, is not only life-changing but life-expanding.’ — Jen Williamson

‘I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.’ — Flannery O’Connor