Thanking our Life Theme

As people, we innately try to make sense out of our life experiences. Life can be erratic with great moments one day, and disappointment the next. Achievements intertwine with failures. Sometimes our efforts make the difference, and sometimes not, be it luck or another intervention.  

Photo by RonaldoOliveira

As writers, we take these inconsistencies and develop them into themes. Some themes I hear from others are “my life as a stay-at-home mom”, “my struggle with addiction”, “my battle with cancer”—you get the picture. What is your theme? My theme is “my passion for helping others.”

However true our themes are, they are far from the whole truth. No one theme can possibly organize all that we experience, so we let the bygones hide in our background.  My bygone is that I know what it’s like to be among the misfits in mainstream America. Today that part is in my past and life is now good. Today, my theme is to help others as I was once helped.

Our themes are opportunities for gratitude as we make sense of who we are and why we are who we are. It lets us experience daily appreciation in our home, work, and community.   

Each day is a gift; an opportunity to say thank you to ourselves for our life theme.

Photo by ElijahO'Donell

Writing Exercise:

(Warm-Up)

1. Set aside “me” time.

2. Cozy up with your favorite writing tools and in your favorite place to write. This could be on your couch with a pink pen and journal or maybe, it’s in a coffee shop with an open word doc on your i-phone. No matter what or where, claim your tools and spot.

(Theme writing)

1.  Write about a time in the past when you felt deep gratitude. Use sensory detail, showing what was happening to make you so happy and your feelings in that moment.

2. Expand by listing other happy life events or experiences (5 events is the goal). Along with sensory details, write about its impact on your current day-to-day joys and struggles.

3. Through words, imagine life in a year from now. Explore your theme. Discover your path and its influence in you, your loved ones, and those around you.  

(After Note)

1. Use the results of this writing experience when you write your next story, whether it’s fiction, nonfiction, news reporting, or poetry, etc.

2. Influence your readers by letting your life theme shine through when you engage in your writing assignments to come.    

With Thanksgiving Day (here in America) on our heels, let's plan to use this writing exercise as a gentle reminder of what Thanksgiving Day is truly about. Happy Thanksgiving, my writer-friends and readers. Please share your life theme with us. 

Photo by SominKhanna

 -Elle-