5-Day Journaling Exercise: Finding Light in the Darkness

Theme: Explore forgiveness, fear, inherited stories, the complexity of ancestry, and compassion for self and others—especially when beliefs are challenged.

Day 1 – Facing the Unimaginable
Has life ever presented you with something that deeply challenged your identity or beliefs?
How did you respond?
How do you hold space for both the discomfort and the potential for growth?

Day 2 – Ancestors, Influence & Inheritance
What legacies—cultural, familial, spiritual, or emotional—have been passed down to you?
Which ones empower you?
Which ones weigh you down or conflict with who you’re becoming?

Day 3 – What is Forgiveness to You?
What does forgiveness not mean to you?
What does it mean?
Where in your life might forgiveness be an act of freedom rather than approval?

Day 4 – The Shape of Compassion
Think of someone you’ve judged harshly (past or present).
If you could hold their story, pain, or history in your awareness for one minute, what would shift?
Now try this with yourself.

Day 5 – Your Light, Defined
When you are in darkness—emotionally, spiritually, mentally—what helps you find light?
What would it mean to tend to your own inner flame, even in the presence of pain, fear, or contradiction?