What if your life were a river?

Drawing the River of Your Life: A Creative Way to Reflect and Begin Again

Part of our month-long invitation to turn inward and discover who you are, how you’ve lived, and what matters most.

When you pause to look back on your life, what do you see? Is it a series of milestones and memories? A blur of days and years? Or something more fluid—more alive?

This May at Willow, we're focusing on you getting to know you—through reflection, storytelling, and legacy work. Mother’s Day may have stirred feelings of love, longing, grief, or gratitude, but no matter what came up for you, the invitation remains the same: turn inward.

See Your Life as a River

One of our most beloved tools for self-reflection is the River of Life exercise. It invites you to draw your life as if it were a river, using curves, twists, forks, and flow to represent your journey. There’s no right way to do it. It’s not about being “artistic.” It’s about letting your inner world rise to the surface, beyond words.

No Right Way, Just Your Way

Some rivers begin at birth, some with past generations. Others start later, at a turning point or a moment of awakening. You might draw bends that represent loss, or calm stretches that reflect times of peace. You might notice rapids, branches, or sudden drops—those moments when everything changed.

This simple act of drawing your life like this, can be surprisingly powerful. It gets you out of your thinking box and into a more intuitive space. It helps you see patterns you hadn’t noticed before. It reminds you that your life isn’t just a list of accomplishments or struggles—it’s a living, evolving story.

From Drawing to Writing: The Path to Your Heart Will®

And here’s the beauty: once you’ve reflected on your life in this way, you’re in the perfect place to begin writing your Heart Will®—Willow’s name for your ethical will—a legacy document that captures what matters most to you and what you want others to know, remember, and carry forward.

You don’t have to be near the end of life to do this work. In fact, you’ll discover that reflecting in this way helps you live more fully now—more intentionally, with more compassion for the path you’ve walked and the one you’re still creating.

Try It for Yourself

🌀 All you need is a blank page, something to draw with, and a willingness to explore.
🌀 Want a guide and a supportive community? Join us for the next Writing Your Heart Will® as a Manifesto for Living—a Willow Workshop® where the River of Life will lead you gently toward legacy writing.

Because your story matters.
And sometimes the first step to writing it… is drawing it.