Next time you are stuck for how to begin a journal page, grab a tourist magazine and start clipping out headlines that grab your attention for whatever reason. Go through the clippings and see what themes seem to be speaking to your spirit. What jogged your thought process? What moved you to cut out a particular headline? From the common stream that emerges put together a series of headlines to create a unique piece of prose.
For this example, I was on vacation in Mexico, and I cut out the headlines from two tourist magazines. Of course the common theme for both was VACATION, but I was thinking reflectively about what I want to do and be when I grow up...so to speak. As I picked through the pile of headlines that I'd clipped out, a common (future) theme emerged for my life & I glued the headlines in my journal. Part two of the process is to take the lessons learned/ideas generated from the process of reading, clipping, selecting, and gluing, and "MAP OUT" the necessary actions you feel called to take as a response to your reflection. The MAPPED OUT response helps to synthesize the thinking and move it from the abstract/ideal to the actual/real.
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| "Mapped Out" is the action process for response. |
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| With your reflection theme identified, name the specific actions of response you need to do. |
