March has arrived. It’s Marley Moo’s 13th birthday – she left me a gift of poo in the bedroom and stole her sister Angel’s toast twice. It’s also St David’s day in Wales, where I lived before coming to Spain – hopefully it’s alive with daffodils.
Here on my morning walk, I spotted my first two poppies, and I hope that this means soon there will be blankets of them and other wild flowers. Poppies hold a deep meaning for me which I will share another time.
This is also the month of the Spring Equinox – a threshold where light and dark stand briefly, beautifully equal before the light tips the balance. My theme for March is change, which is not just inevitable but necessary.
And yet, how often do we resist it?
Change arrives in many guises. Sometimes it sweeps in dramatically – a health crisis, an unexpected diagnosis, a moment of profound challenge that rearranges everything you thought you knew about your life. Sometimes it comes quietly, through the gradual accumulation of small realisations that the path you were on no longer serves you. And sometimes – if you are paying attention and have the courage to listen – it arrives as an invitation from your own wise body, your own inner knowing, your own tired body saying: enough. Slow down and let go of what is not working. And I get that this is hard.
So this March, I’d like to invite in the beauty of transitions and the art of coping with uncertainty, of seizing the opportunities that change always carries within it, of celebrating progress even when that progress looks nothing like we imagined it would. This is really a good time to look back and celebrate because when you are navigating illness, loss, a new beginning, a letting-go, a business reinvention or something else, we need to hold onto the truth that there is always progress even if life feels like shit.
My Personal Transition
I am writing this in the middle of a personal yuckiness of my own. Since December, I have been felled (I sound like a tree) – repeatedly – by illness. A series of lingering lurgies, a deep fatigue that comes with MGUS and recently a new diagnosis: my immune system attacking my thyroid, quietly working against me while I kept pushing forward with plans and projects and the sheer force of my own will.
And then, three weeks ago, I found my neighbour – a woman who had been hiding the full extent of her illness from everyone around her – at near death’s door. She had no family nearby, not really any friends and no one to step in. One other person and I have tried to help; sadly, the healthcare system has failed her. They refused to send an ambulance; instead, they insisted that she be taken to the doctor and then the hospital to be rehydrated and sent home. From what I can see, she hasn’t eaten much in six weeks and is a bag of bones.
I tried to help more than I should, and my body delivered its verdict in the form of a horrible cold that has not yet loosened its grip. I lessened my support to a feed you up shake in the morning and walking her dog between walking my three.
So, without any other choice, I listened to my body and took valuable time out, closed my computer and did very little. I needed to step back from the noise and simply be still. That, of course, hasn’t stopped me from watching the world’s biggest game of chess unfold with horror.
What has struck me once the brain fog lifted is how important it is to change how I work as well. With this witch’s warning, I have thought about how to serve without draining myself. The pull to achieve and be seen is still there. I will not pretend otherwise. But there is a beauty in turning inward. A grace in switching off the noise. And, most of all, peace.
Your change will look different to mine. Perhaps you are at the beginning of something new and exhilarating. Perhaps you are grieving a loss. Perhaps you are, like me, learning the discipline of letting your body lead. Perhaps you are simply tired of who you have been pretending to be.
I hope that the journal prompts support your reflection. Before we do that, I would invite you to look at where you are through the lens of the Wheel of Life.
Where Are We Now?
Before we move into the daily prompts, let us take a look at your Wheel of Life through the lens of change and transition. Find a quiet moment, settle yourself, and reflect honestly on where you stand in each area.
Mental Wellness
- How is change showing up in your thinking?
- Rate yourself 1–10
- What thoughts feel like they belong to a version of you that is shifting?
Physical Health
- What is your body telling you about the changes it needs?
- Rate yourself 1–10
- Where are you honouring its signals, and where are you overriding them?
Spiritual Growth
- How is your inner life navigating this season of change?
- Rate yourself 1–10
- What practices are anchoring you?
Emotional Well-being
- What emotions are arising as you face change?
- Rate yourself 1–10
- Which feelings are asking for more space?
Environment
- Does your physical environment support the changes you are moving through?
- Rate yourself 1–10
- What might need to shift in your surroundings?
Life’s Mission
- Is your sense of purpose shifting?
- Rate yourself 1–10
- What is the quiet voice beneath the noise calling you towards?
Financial Security
- How are changes in your life affecting your relationship with resources?
- Rate yourself 1–10
- Where might a new approach serve you better?
Professional Development
- What is changing in your work, and how you want to show up in the world?
- Rate yourself 1–10
- Where is the old model no longer fitting?
March’s Deep Questions
As you sit with your Wheel of Life, consider these questions before beginning your daily practice:
Standing at the Threshold
- What change is asking for your attention right now, even if you have been avoiding it?
- Where in your life do you feel the push and pull of transition most acutely?
- What would it mean to trust the process of change, even when you cannot see where it leads?
The Body as Messenger
- What has your body been trying to tell you that your mind has been overriding?
- What does rest mean to you right now, and how might you give yourself more of it?
- If your body had a voice in the decisions you make, what would it say?
Looking Forward
- What kind of change are you ready to welcome, even if it feels frightening?
- What would your life look like if you allowed yourself to slow down and trust the unfolding?
- What does the version of you on the other side of this change look like?
March’s Daily Journal Prompts
These prompts guide us through the beauty of transitions, coping with uncertainty, seizing opportunities, celebrating progress, and looking back to move forward.
Week One: The Beauty of Transitions (1st–7th March)
1. 1st March: Winter Into Spring
Write about a transition you are currently moving through. What are you leaving behind, and what feels like it might be waiting on the other side?
Benefit: Naming a transition honestly is the first step to moving through it with grace rather than resistance.
2. 2nd March: Threshold Moments
Describe a significant threshold you have crossed in your life – a before and after. How did that change ultimately shape you?
Benefit: Reflecting on past transitions builds trust in our capacity to navigate present ones.
3. 3rd March: The Beauty Within Difficulty
What beauty, however small or unexpected, can you find in a difficult change you are currently facing?
Benefit: Finding beauty within challenge shifts our relationship with difficulty and opens us to unexpected gifts.
4. 4th March: The Body Knows
Write about a time when your body signalled that something needed to change before your mind was ready to accept it. What happened?
Benefit: Honouring our body’s wisdom builds a deeper, more sustainable relationship with our own knowing.
5. 5th March: Seasons of Self
Which season feels most like your inner life right now – winter’s rest, spring’s awakening, summer’s fullness, or autumn’s release? Write freely about this.
Benefit: Recognising our inner season helps us give ourselves what we actually need rather than what we think we should need.
6. 6th March: What Is Softening
What in you is softening or opening as you move through this season? What is becoming less rigid?
Benefit: Noticing our own softening invites us to trust the natural intelligence of change.
7. 7th March: Grace in Slowing Down
Write about the gifts that have come – or could come – from slowing down. What have you noticed or discovered when you stopped pushing?
Benefit: Slowing down is not failure; it is often how we access our deepest wisdom.
Week Two: Coping With Uncertainty (8th–14th March)
8. 8th March: Not Knowing
What are you currently uncertain about? Write without trying to resolve the uncertainty – simply describe it.
Benefit: Sitting with uncertainty rather than forcing resolution builds emotional resilience and tolerance for complexity.
9. 9th March: The Stories We Tell
What story are you telling yourself about the uncertainty in your life? Is this story helping or hindering you?
Benefit: Identifying our narratives around uncertainty gives us the freedom to choose different ones.
10. 10th March: What Anchors You
When everything feels uncertain, what keeps you grounded? What practices, people, or places offer you stability?
Benefit: Knowing our anchors means we can reach for them deliberately when the ground shifts.
11. 11th March: Releasing Control
Write about something you have been trying to control that is beyond your control. What might it feel like to release your grip on it?
Benefit: Releasing control, even partially, creates space for new possibilities and reduces exhausting mental effort.
12. 12th March: The Wisdom of Not Yet
Write the words ‘I don’t know yet’ at the top of your page, and then write freely. What arises?
Benefit: Making peace with ‘not yet’ opens us to the unfolding rather than the forcing of our lives.
13. 13th March: Fear and Change
What fear is most present for you around a change you are facing? Write to the fear directly – what does it most need to hear?
Benefit: Addressing fear with compassion rather than suppression allows it to move through us rather than ruling us.
14. 14th March: Trusting the Unfolding
Write about a time when something you could not have planned turned out to be exactly what you needed. What did this teach you about trust?
Benefit: Evidence of past unexpected goodness builds our capacity to trust what we cannot yet see.
Week Three: Seizing Opportunities (15th–21st March)
15. 15th March: The Equinox Point
Today or thereabouts is the Spring Equinox – equal light, equal dark. Write about where you feel most in balance, and where you are seeking it.
Benefit: The equinox invites us to find our own centre point amidst competing demands and energies.
16. 16th March: Change as Invitation
What opportunity might be hidden within a change you initially resisted or did not choose? Look honestly and with curiosity.
Benefit: Reframing unwanted change as an invitation expands our sense of possibility and agency.
17. 17th March: New Models
Write about a way of working, living, or being that you are beginning to experiment with. What feels possible now that did not before?
Benefit: Articulating new possibilities helps make them feel real and reachable.
18. 18th March: What Is Ready to Grow
Like seeds in spring soil, what in you is ready to grow now? What conditions do you need to create for this growth?
Benefit: Identifying what is ready to grow helps us direct our energy wisely rather than spreading it too thin.
19. 19th March: The Quiet Calling
What has change been quietly calling you towards, beneath all the noise and resistance? Write without editing yourself.
Benefit: Our quietest callings often carry our most essential truths about direction and purpose.
20. 20th March: Permission
Write yourself a permission slip for the change you most need to make. What are you giving yourself permission to do, be, or release?
Benefit: Giving ourselves explicit permission is a powerful act of self-authorisation that can unlock action.
21. 21st March: Courage and Change
Write about a moment when you showed courage in the face of change. What did that feel like? What did it make possible?
Benefit: Recalling our own courage reminds us that we have already done hard things and can do them again.
Week Four: Celebrating Progress (22nd–28th March)
22. 22nd March: Measuring Differently
How might you measure progress differently – not by output or achievement, but by depth, presence, or alignment? What would that look like for you?
Benefit: Changing our metrics for success allows us to see and celebrate the progress we are actually making.
23. 23rd March: The Small Victories
List five small things you have done this month that have required courage, care, or commitment, however modest they appear.
Benefit: Acknowledging small victories builds momentum and counters the inner critic’s tendency to only notice what remains undone.
24. 24th March: Rest as Progress
Write about rest, recovery, or retreat as forms of progress. Where in your life is resting actually the most important work you can do?
Benefit: Reframing rest as productive challenges the relentless drive culture and supports sustainable energy.
25. 25th March: Who You Are Becoming
Who are you becoming through this season of change? Write about the emerging version of yourself with curiosity and warmth.
Benefit: Tending to our becoming with intentionality and gentleness supports purposeful transformation.
26. 26th March: From Competing to Creating
Write about any shift you are making away from external comparison or competition, towards something more inwardly driven and authentic.
Benefit: Moving from comparison to creation frees enormous energy and connects us to our genuine contribution.
27. 27th March: What Has Already Changed
Without minimising any of the difficulty, what has already changed for the better? What seeds have already begun to push through?
Benefit: Noticing what has already shifted builds gratitude and reinforces the truth that change is already underway.
28. 28th March: The Gifts of This Season
Write about what this season – with all its challenges and transitions – has given you that you could not have received any other way.
Benefit: Finding the gifts within difficulty deepens our capacity for meaning-making and resilience.
Week Five: Looking Back to Move Forward (29th–31st March)
29. 29th March: Patterns Across Time
What patterns do you notice in how you respond to change? How have these patterns served you, and where might they be ready to evolve?
Benefit: Seeing our patterns across time gives us a choice about whether to continue them or consciously shift.
30. 30th March: Letters to Past Selves
Write a short letter to a version of yourself who was going through a significant change. What do you wish she had known?
Benefit: Writing to our past selves builds both compassion for who we were and trust in how far we have come.
31. 31st March: March’s Teaching
What has March taught you about change, about yourself, and about what matters? How will you carry this forward into April?
Benefit: Consciously integrating a month’s learning creates a bridge between reflection and purposeful action.
Making the Most of Your March Journaling Practice
- Create a ritual of arrival before you write – a breath, a stretch, a cup of tea. Let your body know it is safe to slow down.
- Do not chase insight. Some days the page will surprise you; other days the words will feel flat. Both are valuable.
- If a prompt brings up strong emotion, stay with it gently. You do not have to fix anything – only witness.
- Resist the urge to make your journaling another achievement. There is no right way and no wrong way. There is only your way.
- Return to previous entries. Notice what has shifted, even subtly. Progress often reveals itself only in looking back.
- If you are going through illness, exhaustion, or grief, scale back. One sentence of honest writing is worth more than three pages of performance.
- Remember that your words are medicine. Write as if they matter – because they do.
Closing Reflection: The Grace of Change
March teaches us that change is not the enemy of a good life. It is, in many ways, the engine of it.
The earth does not apologise for the messiness of spring – for the mud and the false starts and the occasional frost that catches the early blossoms. It simply continues, faithfully, in the direction of the light.
You, too, are faithfully continuing. Even in illness, uncertainty and even in the quiet retreat from a world that often demands too much.
These prompts are an invitation. To turn towards yourself and witness your own transition with the same compassion you might offer a friend. To find, within the difficulty and the uncertainty and the beautiful, inconvenient truth of your own change, something that looks very much like grace.
