I am sure that we all have daydreamed or reminisced about events from our past or our current attitudes towards current events and situations. At such time, I often wander through the dimly lit hallways, attics, and cellars of my mind, poking at crumpled piles of refuse on the floor, opening long abandoned closets and crawl spaces, and leafing through stacks of weathered books and documents. What I find sometimes uncovers pleasant memories, and sometimes not-so pleasant ones. Past events that I had long forgotten occasionally drop from the ceiling or jump out of the closet, startling me. Once in a while, one of these thoughts will hound me for no apparent reason. Whatever the case, such reflection is vital to our mental and psychological health.
In a recent article by @StevenHandel titled “12 Everyday Activities That Put You into a Natural State of Reflection,” we are reminded that reflection is vital to our psychological and mental well-being. Reflection is important to improved learning and enhanced creativity.1 Although not explicitly included in his article, I am sure that @SteveHandel would agree with me that reflection can also be a vacation of sorts for our minds, releasing stress and allowing for play time. In his article, @StevenHandel discusses 12 everyday activities that can lead to natural reflection. The one I want to focus on is journaling.
Journaling, or keeping a diary, is a great way to reflect on events and organize our thoughts and strategies.1 Through journaling, we can reimagine our life-story to encourage us to continue the fight or move on to new heights.1 I suggest that, when journaling, consider poetry as one tool in your reflection toolbox. In my previous blog, “Poetry and the Origin,” published on 7/20/18, I wrote, “Poetry comes from the deepest place within, that place where the Origin was meant to reside.”
A few years ago, I came to a place in my life where I realized that what I was doing wasn’t working. I had pretty much abandoned hope and was adrift in the raging sea of life, pardon the cliché. Decades of poor decisions and self-inflicted wounds had me on death’s doorstep. Poetry saved me. Through composition of poetry, I was able to reflect on much and release the poison coursing through my veins.
In “Stupid Things,” I lamented, “What were you thinking, \ What have you done, \ As you forged on ahead, \ Even into the sun?”
In “Misery,” I sobbed, “Dawn breaks not on this shadowed soul \ When the sky stretches in eternal gray; \ As he sits alone in misery self-proclaimed, \ Awakening to another hopeless day.”
I came face-to-face with the truth in, “Hurtful Things,” where I wrote, “And all these days pass into night, \ Darkened by an enraptured heart, \ Set free by sloth and glutful pride, \ These hurtful things tear one apart.”
By way of testimony to the healing power of poetry, here are two poems written in opposition to each other, the first, “Free Fall,” at the lowest point of my life; and, more recently, “Rise.”
“Free Fall:” Come, Lord, \ Let her fall! \ Night from the heavens, \ She Envelops me \ In her somber light; \ While You sigh a knowing breath, \ As Salvation fades from my sight, \ And I free-fall from a dizzying height. \ Lost at once to the sullen day, \ Hope’s an illusion of Your ethereal way.
“Rise:” Come Lord, in splendor rise! \ Your son from Heaven \ Embraces me in salvation’s hope, \ As you breathe life into my heart \ And demons from my way depart. \ Redemption offered by your own hand, \ Free to all who will but stand.
So, is poetry some magic elixir for healing? Of course not, but it certainly is useful. I can’t credit poetry completely for my transformation. I had friends, family, and loving a God that helped, too. I do believe, though, that writing poems allowed me to explore and release much of what hurt.
1 Steven Handel, “12 Everyday Activities That Put You Into a Natural State of Reflection,” (theemotionmachine.com, 4/9/18)
