I have a lot of stories on my imaginary shelf. Some have been there for a very long time. I’m sure a new one or two will pop in today. Others disappear and then there are those that pop in and out. I learn something from all of them.
Telling stories that we love, that we have a passion for is a real key to storytelling. It is about the emotion, the feeling, the connection we have. And we may not initially even understand why we connect with it. The why-we-love-it can change over time. Stories we love can be a lot easier to tell then something we don’t care about.
But, what about that passion we have for a tale that has nothing to do with love, the stories that provoke a passionate revulsion – a strong feeling of wanting to turn away – shut the door. The stories that produce those kind of – what some call – negative* feelings can be treasures in disguise. I believe we tell our stories whether or not we speak a word through our body language, our tone, behaviors and actions.
What if we can play with all our stories? Telling them in first person, third person, from the point of view of an object in the room, or another character, animal, superhero, etc, we can gain perspective. It can be easier to deal with almost any kind of story from a playful point of view. Stories though don’t always reveal new understanding just because we want them to. In those cases I try to appreciate the mystery. There are some stories I have explored in great depth, let go, revisited and bounced around in many different ways – stories I’ve played with that I may never really understand, but my exploration has led me to understand myself, others and the world around me in a more compassionate way.
However, where do we tell all these stories? There may not necessarily be a time and place and another human being around to listen, or maybe there are some tales you’d rather not share with another living soul. The solution? We can share them in a journal, on a piece of paper, on a digital document, in a video or audio recording, or we can tell them to ourselves out loud or “out loud” in our imaginations. We can collage, paint, draw, act out out the story and I’m not talking about professional art, I’m talking about whatever-you-want-to-do-art. My favorite way to collage is with tape and scissors and torn scraps, Stories can take many forms they don’t have to be written or orally shared. But if you do want to write but hesitate to because others might see it – paper can be shredded – it doesn’t have to last. Yet the experience may just be one that makes a delightful lasting impression. There are many ways to play with stories.
And don’t forget to listen for the passion in the voice of the person who is sharing a story with you – even if that person is you!
– Mary
P.S. If your story was like the wind, would you call it a refreshing breeze, trade wind, monsoon, polar, westerly, or ? Since I have to get up at 3 AM to do some grocery shopping (I’ve had to prep for the trip today), I’m naming this story “the wide-eyed-but-wish-I-could-sleep-in wind” and hope it dances in with ease.
* I’m not a fan of the category of “negative feelings”. Is it possible that feelings aren’t positive or negative and/or that they can be both positive and negative>
