Tell Me Your Story

There is something about stories; something primal, something essential. Stories attract our attention; we are able to enter into them, and remember them. We often do not remember lectures, or sermons, or arguments. Children want someone to tell them a story, they do not want someone to lecture them. We do not master stories; they master us.

Some stories entertain, some educate, some enlighten; some stories confuse us, some challenge our perceptions, some make us frustrated, and some nurture us.

We all listen to stories other people tell us, whether they are told around a fire, in a coffeeshop, in a darkened theatre, in music, or on our computer. The stories we hear shape us, and our stories shape others.

Some people become leaders because of their stories, others cause great suffering because of the stories they are told and the stories they tell. Each group of people, and each person, tells its story in its own way. The scriptures of every religious tradition consist of stories which describe the context and basis for what people believe. The history of the world is the total of the stories told by story-tellers throughout time.

Our stories grow and develop over time. We begin to appreciate things in new ways, and our stories adapt to include new lessons and insights. Listening to other people’s stories helps us hear our own stories more clearly.  Our opinions, our families, our lives are a tapestry woven from the stories we hear, the stories we tell, the stories that are knit into our oldest dreams.

Stories are how we fit our experiences together and how we shape who we become because of them.  Embracing our story allows us to appreciate what has happened, and to find out what happens next.  Some people resist their own stories because they do not meet their expectations, because they judge parts to be right and parts to be wrong.  Listening to our stories helps us appreciate ourselves more clearly, more deeply.

As a spiritual director and leadership coach working with individual people and nonprofit organizations, I get to spend time listening to people’s stories. Stories that shape people, stories that frustrate people, stories that comfort us and call us to action; stories of great gain, deep love, regret and longing, injustice and inspiration.

So, tell me your story.

[Image by search engine people blog]