“All that we are is story. From the moment we are born to the time we continue on our spirit journey, we are involved in the creation of the story of our time here. It is what we arrive with. It is all we leave behind. We are not the things we accumulate. We are not the things we deem important. We are story. All of us.” – Richard Wagamese
There’s something to this concept of storytelling.
I think it allows the things that happen in our lives to make the most sense. I think, in the mix of emotion and memories, the best any of us can do is tell our own story, our own truth. It’s often simply in the telling of the story that healing happens. Telling stories is an ancient spiritual practice, a tool for communication and a way of passing on experiences through generations.
See, the human brain has been on a slower evolutionary trajectory than the technological advances we’ve been making, particularly in the past two generations. Our brains still respond to content by looking for the story to make sense out of the experience. No matter how fast technology can assist with processing data, the meaning starts in the brain. Stories act as the vehicles that, by stimulating neural pathways, trigger our imagination. By engaging our imagination, we become participants in the narrative and can make sense of things differently or deepen an experience.
What is your story? I think it’s then, as we start talking, sometimes pieces we didn’t even know were there start to emerge. Seeing your story in print or sharing it with another is the critical part. And then integrating and reconnecting those pieces allows for growth, and openness, and freedom.
If your story feels hard to tell, or painful to revisit, I hope these words help you find the courage to see that all we are is story.
