I have a passion for creative journaling for resilience! My background in communication and art education colors my approach to sharing this passion project with you: combining creative expression with social connection. I'm so glad you are here to follow along on my journey through creative journaling - and to maybe even find a path of your own into this joyful hobby!

Come here to find a sprinkling of prompts and inspiration for creative journaling, invitations and links to monthly virtual workshops, and news about upcoming events to experience creative journaling in community with others!

Questions? Feel free to email me at: thereflectivenurse@gmail.com

There is an entry point for everyone! No art or writing experience needed. Jump in with a lens for new discoveries on your journey!

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

-Pablo Picasso

Credit to the mama of a friend of a lifetime, Char Albers, who invited me to start this practice when I was a homesick freshman in college wondering what to do with my life!

Jump into our gathering gallery to see what I did with this journaling prompt. You're invited to share what you did with the inspiration, too!

One of my new favorite approaches to journaling is to use 4x6" notecards. Stored in a recipe box on the kitchen counter, this sets up journaling to be a habit, keeping it right in front of me in daily life, and easily stacked on top of something else happening in the kitchen (waiting for the coffee to brew, the pasta water to boil, etc!). Following a simple journaling prompt on a 4x6 notecard feels very approachable...it only takes a few minutes, removing the barrier of thinking that I don't have time for my creative journaling hobby.

More important than the vessel you choose for your journaling journey, is considering what you want from the process of putting things on a page. For me, journaling provides a space to go deeper in my observations and thoughts. We can't slow down time, but I've found that pausing to make note of observations helps me to slow down in the context of time-flying.

If you don't know what to "creatively journal" about, I'm glad you're here! This space is meant to keep creativity on the calendar, in community with one another. As 2025 unfolds, you'll see monthly prompts and opportunities to come together in social connection around creative expression. And I want to see what you're inspired to do outside of virtual or live events that bring us together! Be sure to check out the "Padlet within our Padlet" to add posts of your own about what you're inspired to create in your daily life, along with sparks of inspiration worth sharing with others.

Some journaling or conversation that might inspire the selection of your word: you can write out a list of what you want more and/or less of in your daily life. Then, look up definitions in the dictionary of words that capture any themes you observe in your more/less journal entry. Making a list of synonyms can bolster your word choice or even give you a word idea to serve as a lens. 

This tradition has served my creative process far more expansively than the "shoulds" that often come with New Year's Resolutions!

Want more inspiration and some social connection around creative expression? Join one of our monthly virtual workshops for some lively creativity coaching. Scroll back to the left for the "Monthly virtual workshops" tab on this page for the 2025 schedule!

Jump into our gathering gallery to see what I did with this journaling prompt. You're invited to share what you did with the inspiration, too!

I lucked upon this wonderful approach to coaching/being coached in spring of 2020. Burnout in health care was well documented before the pandemic -- I had a hunch that those of us in the biz who wanted to "keep the light on" were going to need to find new approaches to resilience.

Enter, creative expression: one of the most well-documented approaches to decreasing stress and increasing quality of life! My stupendous KMCC Coach Kathy Grundei has become one of my dearest cheerleaders in creative endeavors. The KMCC tools Kathy used to guide me in our coaching sessions made all the difference in bringing my Creative Journaling for Resilience desk calendar to life.

In 2025, I became a Certified Kaizen Muse Creativity Coach! I share tools and approaches to bringing your creative process to life in our monthly workshops. The KMCC questions I’m sharing in the image above are like water and sunshine for metaphoric seeds you may have planted in 2025! You might want to try reflecting on these questions with a journal entry or a conversation with a peer.

You can reach out if you'd like to learn more about what I can offer 1:1 as a creativity coach: thereflectivenurse@gmail.com

Check out some of the other offerings of KMCC Founder Jill Badonsky if you are looking for more creative fans for your embers - check out Jill's programs and free newsletter: The Muse is In!

The approach can apply to creative journaling by way of gathering something to write with, something to write on, and anything else that might inspire your space and journaling session.

A book that inspires reflection, a candle, and something to sip on -- these are a few of my favorite things to set the tone and intention for reflection. Creating space space and time for reflection is like curating your very own personal charging station!

Consider how you might set the table for your reflective space...

These virtual workshops feature creativity coaching and prompts that follow my self-published calendar. Free and open to all!

Calls are 40 minutes and rally some social connection around creative expression. No writing or art experience required, cameras and sharing are optional!

Next creative journaling call (published in Central Standard Time) will be announced here on 6/1

Come back to this space for more monthly virtual workshop dates! Links to join will be published here by morning of each call.

Kenzie shared a couple pages from her self-published workbook: Self-Care for Healthcare. Have a look above for some inspiration!

As a precursor to journaling on the prompts on this featured page, Kenzie recommends looking over Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead Values or Saturday Gift’s Core Values.

Let's show Kenzie some love for being our featured Muse en Place in the month of March! Jump into our gathering gallery to see what I did with this journaling prompt. You're invited to share what you did with the inspiration, too!

All are welcome to post in our Gathering Gallery — I’ll share an update on the little ZINE library that’s coming together here in my corner of the world!

Guiding us through inspiration, thought-work, and prompts, Taraleen's takeover of our monthly creative journaling session gave participants a canvas to find the extraordinary details in the art of living out an identity.

Gratitude abounds for talent like Taraleen's - she lead a virtual room full of adults back to the 5th grade version of ourselves with this activity!

The personal impact of Kaizen-Muse on my path has been like reeling the energy of fireworks into a fleet of fireflies: a softer, more sustainable light from within to embark upon creative endeavors in my field.

Thank you for teaching me, Jill Badonsky!

More to come...

Forest bathing registration is through Wild Wanders, with a portion of each walk fee going back to the land we roam.

More, on our January virtual workshop, Nationally Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, Kerry Appleton will guide us in a reflective timeline activity.

Cameras optional. Vibe is low-key — and the social connection is rich! Bring something to write on and something to write with.