Finding the Story

Find a comfortable, quiet place to relax in solitude. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Let your memory flow back over the days of your UUCSJ journey.

  • What were the most powerful moments of your trip for you?

Think about what captured your attention most during your experiences. Perhaps it was an unexpected conversation with a fellow traveler, one of the speakers you heard from your host organization, an encounter with a village resident, or a playful time you shared with a child.

  • Were you surprised by a strong emotional experience, one that made you profoundly sad, joyful, or angry?
  • Did you find yourself feeling reconciled or comforted by anything you saw or learned?
  • Where did you find yourself delighting in something new?
  • When and how were you surprised or even shocked by what you saw or heard?
  • Was there a time when your own feelings or reactions surprised or disappointed you?

Pull out images from your memory that capture your attention: people, situations, sights and sounds, rooms where you slept, the smells from the streets, the meals you shared, the people you saw and met. Let it all flow from the back of your mind to the front.

Now open your journal. Without censoring yourself at all, simply write down words or phrases that capture this flow of memory. Don’t worry about getting it “right”. It’s just important right now to bring the memories to the surface of your mind and see what the most riveting parts of the journey turned out to be for you.

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