A Week’s Worth of Journaling Prompts: Spring 1

SPRING is a time of transition, the time between winter and summer, when everything is changing rapidly, growing, greening, budding, and flowering. Spring is also a symbol for many life experiences: times of change, times of growth, times that vacillate between rain and sun, pessimism and hope. For all these reasons, spring is a wonderful catalyst for journal writing.

Personally, I love this time of year, when the ground brings forth bright surprises and lots of weeds, and when the grass, which has been hibernating all winter, begins to stretch itself toward the sun. I always feel a little as though I am waking up, unfolding from the earth, reaching up myself. As though all the thoughts and feelings that have been hibernating all winter take root. Then I understand that when I thought I was being unproductive, I was merely storing energy for a burst of growth.

This week’s journaling prompts are designed to help us examine what spring means to us, both literally and metaphorically.

1. Write about your very first spring memory. What about that memory gives you the best feelings? What about it gives you the worst (or least positive) feelings? What does that memory represent for you?
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2. Perform a word association exercise with the word “spring.” (Write “spring” at the top of a page, then write the next word that comes into your head. Continue writing words as they come to you, without stopping, thinking, or censoring, until your mind is quiet and there are no more words.) When you are done, look over the list of words. Finish the following sentence: When I read this list of words, I feel … because …
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3. The most common metaphor for spring is the start of a time of growth, renewal, or of better times. What other metaphors are true for you? Find out by completing this sentence in five different ways: In my life, spring is …
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4. What is your favorite spring flower? What color is it? Does that color show up in your life in other ways? If so, how does it show up? What emotions do you associate with that flower and/or that color?
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5. Who in your family most reminds you of spring? Why?
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6. If you could spend spring anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? What would you do while you were there? In what ways would that spring vacation renew your spirit?
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7. How would you describe yourself emotionally, using spring weather as a metaphor? For example, I am mostly sunny with some clouds in the late afternoon. After you’ve described yourself, freewrite about that idea for ten minutes.

Finally, just for fun, share your favorite spring activity with us by leaving a comment below.

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