Thought Gardening: Cultivating Clarity Through Nature Journaling

“Your mind is the garden, your thoughts are the seeds. The harvest can either be flowers or weeds.” —William Wordsworth

Just like a real garden, our thoughts need space, nourishment, and time to grow. I sometimes like to pause on certain words that come across in readings, poetry, or even on social media. The word cultivate stuck out to me when I initially started trying this activity in journaling workshops and seminars because we are not only constantly creating, but we are growing in many ways, too. I am not necessarily a person who has a green thumb, but I do think that journaling can be used as a tool for tending to what is going on in our minds each day. The idea of a thought garden is not new. Below are some of the inspirations for this journaling prompt, including one of my favorites from Morgan Harper Nichols.