Storytelling (Guest Post - Stephanie)

I had the pleasure of meeting Stephanie while we were both attending graduate school at the University of Montana.  She is a dedicated storyteller and has been sharing some of her writing and meditation practice on her blog visibleandreal.wordpress.com Stephanie is deeply inquisitive and is again pursuing graduate studies, this time in a counseling program in Maryland.  I have appreciated the support and friendship she has provided for me in the writing I do here and am very pleased to welcome her as a guest poster.

Owning and sharing my story is important.

There are so many times I want to deny what I have experienced. Maybe because it's not pretty, or because I feel redness seeping into my cheeks as I even think about sharing. Or perhaps it is, as I've even found when writing this affirmation, I find myself thinking, "Who cares? What does it matter to anyone else?"

I have to remind myself that it is important. It matters.

For me, part of the challenge has been in learning to own my story. Yet, when I am able to own it, I know it in the way that my movements and words embody the story and honors my truth. It's the difference between trying to push the truth behind me so no one sees it or letting it become simply a part of who I have become - just like my strands of gray hair and the laugh lines around my eyes.

The second hardest part? Sharing my story. Yet, the moments I am able to be honest and share what I thought no one would understand or want to hear have brought the most unexpected people closer.  I've begun to learn that when I share my story, I give permission to others to tell theirs. Whether in a small whisper or a loud "ME TOO!" - I have allowed space for truth to be seen and recognized.

This is how we come to know ourselves and know others.

My story is important. Your story is important.

The world needs our voices.  

Unwritten

I am the author of my life

I love a good story.  In particular I am inspired by the underdog that overcomes the seemingly impossible. In my own story it sometimes feels like life has created a set of circumstances that leave me locked in to patterns that keep playing out the same set of results. It appears that my story has already been written.  I am locked in and I either lack the skills to overcome, or that I do not have the choice to do something different. It can feel like my story has already been written and I have no choice to play out my part to its' inevitable conclusion. It may even seem that every act is just one more chapter in a never ending tragedy. 

It is a mistake to think I am only a character in this story. My role is bigger than just the part I think has been written for me...I am the author. If I find that the lines that past circumstance have written for me do not tell the story I want, then it is time to begin rewriting the script.  I own this story, it is mine, and I am meant to be the hero that overcomes the odds and reaches my full potential.