Well, what a wonderful journey this has been. I had such strong reservations coming to a class where the goal is to share my personal stories. While I thrive with traditional stories, as they have been my guiding elders, the concept of telling stories about myself made me tight in the chest. What? Me? Tell a cohesive story? A consistent train of thought in front of an audience? I just didn’t know how I was going to accomplish this. However, the gentle guidance to find my own voice has impacted me more than I could have ever anticipated.
I have resonated deeply with Inviting the Wolf in: Thinking about Difficult Stories by Loren Niemi and Elizabeth Ellis. This book demonstrates how to masterfully and artfully share stories that demand to be shared, even if they are hard. The heart of the book is the triad of the teller, listener, and story interlaced with trust, permission, and ownership. These elements beautifully woven together create knot work that allows the existence of a difficult story to be shared in a beautiful way. I find that the more I knit together these elements in my personal stories, the more they show in my personal life- and how wonderful it is to have trust, permission, and ownership alive and thriving. I’m finding that I trust my discretion to tell the intimate details of life, with no obligation to anyone. I am giving myself permission to try and explore how my stories come into being, whether they are pristine or not. Finally, my ownership for the difficulties in my life are manifested as the value and honor to give myself.
While my voice strengthens within myself, I am continually inspired by my classmates telling every week. I feel so privileged to gain insight into their lives as they each craft stories that embody their own essence. Every class we are transported through time and space, and my soul feels full as i drive home every week. I might still have butterflies when preparing to tell my own stories, but now they are from excitement instead of fear.
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