After the death of a beloved pet, one of the tools you can use to cope with grief and move through the grieving process is journaling. Here are a few tips on how to get started with
Stream of consciousness writing.
- Write in longhand; pen on paper – it is much more effective than typing.
- Don’t worry about correct spelling or grammar.
- Write what comes to mind, i.e. “stream-of-consciousness writing”.
A good time to do the journaling is in the morning when you just wake up. Julia Cameron has written a useful book called, “The Artist’s Way” where she calls it Morning Pages and says, “There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages… They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only.”
Writing Morning Pages might not seem like much, but I know from personal experience that Morning Pages will have a distinct and positive effect on your life. So just keep doing them for a period and you will see. The important thing about Morning Pages is to start writing when you first wake up, before you are “completely” awake and before getting into your usual routines.
One thing I liked to do, though, was to always end with a positive affirmation. After all the stream of consciousness rambling, it gave me some kind of positive focus to end with, and a good start to the day.
What else to include in you journaling
Besides the stream-of-consciousness writing you can also
- Write a letter to your pet. If there is something you feel you need to say to your deceased pet, write it out in longhand.
- Draw, paint or sculpt, if you feel drawn to that.
- Pay attention to your dreams and write them down.
Questions for you to answer
It can also be healing to be more specific in your writing at times. You can for instance answer the following questions:
- How did you meet your pet?
- What are your favorite memories of your pet?
- What did your pet like to do?
- In what ways has your pet improved your life?
- List some of the unique qualities you pet had.
I hope some of the above suggestions will inspire you.
