Just-one-phrase journalling practice for complex life situations which can create a real difference. It certainly did for me. It saved my sanity and gave me a sense of perspective at the time when all I saw day after day was what seemed a solid wall in front of me. I’m eternally grateful to the person who came up with it.
I read this phrase in a book (I can’t remember the title or an author of, it was a very long time ago).
“This situation is happily resolving for the benefit of all concerned”
Is about trust in processes which are bigger than an individual human life; it’s about accepting our role and place in a bigger system and while still acting to the best of our understanding, capacities, resources and all – our willingness to let go of the outcome and not tying ourselves up to the resolution.
We can still journal and see what comes up in a stream writing about potential resolution. This can be helpful as you will see what’s in your awareness field and what are your reference points based on previous experience – personal, family, social circle or any advice we received from professionals (which may or may not resonate internally with what we are feeling). This way we empty the surface level of our perception around this situation and let the previously unknown options come to our awareness or unfold in the external.
We can also mind map journal on the options we can currently see – mind map journaling will broaden our awareness further and mind maps are inviting us to go well beyond a simple list. Any journaling practice will give us better clarity.
Automatic thought patterns
We tend to suffer and go in circles when we are faced with a challenging situation which is bigger than us but we still try to resolve it single handedly (meaning for other people as well, and assuming that we know what’s best for everyone) and based on our previous experience or understanding.
However, this particular station which we are facing now may happen to be well outside of any reference points we ever had and a totally creative solution is needed on our part or will transpire with time in the external. If there was no previous experience of immigration for example (good intention, with the job but still into a full uncertainly) or changing profession (even when we feel we exhausted our options in our current profession and things clearly stopped working) in our personal experience or family experience or our social circle there is no practical knowledge we can easily fall back onto. And while we will still be doing our very best, considering various options and taking into account any good advice, friendly or professional – if we leave some room for a natural development for this situation to unfold, we can create more peace and contentment and decrease the internal pressure, inner conflict and struggle and eventually let things to develop organically and ourselves to come up with better, fresher, more daring, creative and inspiring options.
From a spiritual perspective, this is a ‘surrender’ in a good sense of it. If you know the source of this phrase please let me know, I’d love to read that book again – and I’m really grateful to the person who came up with this simple solution to complex situations.
Observing tiny changes
Often we need to learn and practice a skill and an art of seeing small, even tiny and maybe seemingly very much background or insignificant changes – these are often the tell tale signs that the situation is indeed starting to move in a direction which is “beneficial for all concerned”. A lot of it is just trust, but it is also an informed trust: we list all the options we can see after an initial ‘surrender’ and so we free our mind and wait for things to develop the way they were intended to develop, beyond ours or anyone’s wishes and agendas. It’s the surrender, the patience some complex situations often call for; but it’s also about trusting in natural unfolding of things, often hidden from us.
Journalling – ‘away from’ or ‘towards’
The best way to use this tool initially in my opinion is to just write this down and then take a pause. This pause can be a little tea break or walk in nature or it can be a break for a day – and when we pick up our journaling after that pause, all relevant details may come naturally to us and we may come us with better options.
This maybe used in challenging situations but can also be used in a good-problem-to-have situations when you are making decisions or considering equally good options but struggle to come up with a solution for some time. In this case this focusing phrase can create a necessary dynamic and a good momentum towards taking some first steps towards a decision or a resolution so we can “start walking on the Path and the Path appears” (Rumi).
Any questions – please get in touch using the form below. If you would like to learn multiple creative simple journaling techniques for your daily self-care, making sense of your life experience or exploring deeper layers of your inner world, join us for Journaling Challenge ‘Letters to the Soul’ – it will give you a wide variety of tools to journal with ease and joy for years to come.
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