When my children were little, they loved to hear the story of their birth. They would listen to what became a familiar narrative of back pain and sending children to a sitter and long hours waiting. A secret smile would crease their faces as they heard again what Daddy said, and what the Doctor said, and how I felt when at last they were born.Story is powerful. Who hasn't been frightened by the right combination of words on a page? Who hasn't been moved - to tears, to anger, to generosity - through a story that has been told? Who doesn't have a story tucked away in their memory that gives them comfort in the dark.
Stories help us figure out who we are, from the first stories about our birth through the years of our lives - I hated going to school, I played football in high school, I fell in love at first glance. We all have a warehouse full of stories which shape us. First these stories help us to know ourselves, then they become the narrative by which we interact with the world around us.
Which stories we hold close to us are critical; they are the source material for our self-understanding, our sense of meaning and even point us forward with purpose and determination. Think of the trajectories of these stories "Once I was the most important person in my office..." "My mother always told me I was in the way...." "When I started playing hockey, the coach said I had some skill..." We can use the stories of our lives to look backward with longing, to shape our sense of self worth, or as a springboard to new adventures.
For those of you who are not familiar with TED talks, it is very difficult to explain what they are. But if you follow this link, you will be able to watch an African writer speak about the power of story to both open your world or to lock it down. Take some time and enjoy. Then watch for more talk about story
