Life Map
LIFE MAP
Directions: View this timeline of your life from birth to the present as a life map. Giving you clues to your story.
- Note: Your age is marked on the bottom of the chart. (I like to fill this in in the following example)
- If Im 40 the middle of the timeline would be my 20
- Note that the left-hand margin is a marker as to how the event impacted you.
- Note zero simply means the event did not positively or negatively influence you.
Taking an Honest Inventory of our Emotional life stories:
- Prayerfully ask God to help you reflect on your life. The emotional ups and downs from childhood to today. These events/circumstances have helped create who you are today. They also produced the lens through which you currently view life.
- Prayerfully create a written outline of your life story. Make a list: (It helps if you keep them in sequential order). Think of:
- Defining moments
- High and low points
- Influential relationships
- Relationship with God
- Seasons of growth
- Now, you are ready to draw your life map, which represents your story. Plot out and label the events. Then, connect and draw your lines.
- Prayerfully reflect on your life map. Are there patterns you notice?
- How was God present in the good and bad? Maybe you don’t know where he was. That’s OK, too! Just make a note of it.
- Keep a journal and elaborate on any areas in your journal and with your sponsor where you feel called. Perhaps areas that bring particular highs or lows.
- Bring this all to Jesus Christ. Invite him on the scene. Ask for awareness of His input and presence. (You can use our YouTube Meditation, Titled Catholic Body Awareness, or our healing videos on YouTube.)
- How has this activity helped you gain a more birds-eye view of your life thus far? (Plot the events)
- How might this exercise affect your understanding of your past? What is your view of the present? And your feelings about the future?
Example of the map
Life Map Outline
| EVENT- | DESCRIPTION – |
| Ex: Birth | Happy normal event |
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