We see the world not as it is, but as we are.*
Steven Covey

we see the world, not as it is, but through a veil of perceptions**
Ken Robinson

These two quotes lined up to sound a serious caution.

Add another and the warning deepens:

We thinks we tell stories, but often stories tell us.^

Out from his writing experiences Robert McKee clarifies:

We realise our toughest task in life is self-analysis as we try to fathom our humanity and bring peace to the wars within.^^

John O’Donohue holds out hope for those who enter McKee’s space of self-reflection within a world we only see through our personal paradigms:

The imagination has a deep sense of irony. It is wide awake to the limitation of its own suggestions and showings.*^

It is hard work, to be sure,
For the business of keeping as open as we are able for as long as we can takes a lot of energy –
Literally.
Our brains are burning calories and it is natural to try and conserve energy,
So we find shortcuts and build our worldviews.
Yet, whilst we may never break free from these stories telling us,
We can still alter them at a deeper level.

The writer who is also an artist Austin Kleon offers some direction when he writes:

The diary is the heart of my practice, the place where most of my work is made or at least first conceived.^*

A journal is a great place to be more open, curious, inquiring and imaginative,
But to make sure that this becomes more than your little worlds in ink and paper,
Invite along some people you don’t know to share from their worlds.

Here are mine from this morning,
Including some who have become “journaling friends”:
Kassia St Clair, Seth Godin, Bessel van der Kolk, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Rob Walker, Margareta Magnusson, as well as those I’ve quoted.

*Quoted in Ben Hardy’s Personality Isn’t Permanent;
**From Ken Robinson’s Out of Our Minds;
^Rebecca Solnit, quote in Bernadette Jiwa’s What Great Storytellers Know;
^^From Robert McKee‘s newsletter: The Thrill of a Thriller;
*^From John O’Donohue’s Divine Beauty;
^*From Austin Kleon’s blog: A walkthrough of my diary.