WRITE YOUR YEAR - SESSION 2 - RELEASING YOUR STORY

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In this session, we started off with the idea that we all have a "story" about who we are. This is not necessarily a bad thing - it is part of being human - but sometimes our "story" no longer fits and we need to let go of it in order to write a new one.

So ask yourself this question: WHAT IS MY "STORY?" and WHAT PART OF IT AM I READY TO LET IT GO THIS YEAR? (Some examples might be, "I am the 'good girl,'" or "I am the 'black sheep of the family.'")

As a way to let go of the part of the story that no longer fits, we did an exercise from the book, Radical Forgiveness by Colin Tipping called The Three Letters Process. In this exercise you write three letters (that you DO NOT send) to someone who you feel has wronged you or in some way treated you badly. Choose someone who has been significant in your life and whom you feel forgiving might help to release you from your old story.

Afterwards we all came back together to share.

HOMEWORK:
  • Do some kind of a "release" ritual by burning the letters you wrote or shredding them. (Alternatively, you may want to put them some place safe where you can come back to them in a few months or years to see how things have shifted and changed for you.)
  • Notice any changes in your relationship with the person you wrote the letters to. Does it feel like things have shifted? How? Do you feel differently about this person? Are the feelings stronger or less strong now? Journal about these feelings if you would like.  

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