Have you ever felt like the wind is gone from your sails… Your bungee has lost its bounce… You are wading in thigh-high waters?

That’s how I have felt recently, without being able to put a finger on why or point to any significant changes in my life or health that might be the source of the problem. Even “problem” seems too grand a word for it. How about “malaise”? That, at least, sounds slightly exotic.

Part of living with significant illness or disability is learning to craft energy. You may not feel well enough to work a traditional job, but you don’t feel bad all the time. Each day – each moment – you assess your wellness and energy. This is not a heart-charging, upward and onward lifestyle. It takes a gentler, friendlier touch.

Journaling can be a tool for befriending your experience. A call please You can use it to explore and discover your thoughts and feelings.

To begin to delve into this season of malaise, I played around with metaphors (as you can see by my opening paragraph).

Doldrums” is a popular nautical term that refers to the belt around the Earth near the equator where sailing ships sometimes get stuck on windless waters. Remembering the phrase “stuck in the doldrums” led me to a  post by Jan Hatmaker. She describes making her way out of the doldrums and taking her family with her. She used a combination of tidying her life (making a list of undone tasks, creating a family chore chart, restarting healthy habits) with accentuating the positive (family brag board).

Listening to meditation instructions this week, I was struck by the ideas of rooting and aspiring. “Let your body below the waist be heavy and root down. Let your upper body feel light and aspiring, reaching…” That, too, seems to offer what could be some juicy metaphors.

Here are some journaling prompts to begin to examine time of doldrums:

  • my body is telling me…
  • 10 metaphors for how I feel right now (list)
  • list of undone tasks
  • to put down roots, I could…
  • Ways to nourish myself (list)
  • I would like to reach for…
  • If I had energy, I would love to…
  • 10 things that give me energy (list)
  • draw a map of where you are right now

Give some of these a try and let me know how it goes…