Storytellers Rule the World

Today, in the United States, we host a holiday for a man who used words to paint a picture of a life unseen in his era. He like many larger-than-life leaders crafted imagery and energy with words. This is storytelling at its finest. He was not the first, nor will he be the last. Countless men and women through the ages have shaped our todays with their words. Now it is our turn.

Not every storyteller was famous, or larger than life. Nor on a mission to create change. Many of the best storytellers were the men and women who would share daily anecdotes in conversation. They would write thoughts in letters to friends and family. They passed along wisdom in smaller intimate settings. They jotted down thoughts in notebooks, diaries, in recipe books, or slips of paper tucked in pockets and drawers.

Each of these little doings shaped life for you and I. Oftentimes more, than the larger leaders and speakers. The smaller connections were boots on the ground. Single stars in a night sky.

The Good Old Days

We don’t live like generations before us. Our words leak briefly in a forgotten and irretrievable email. Many of our conversations between souls these days are filled with despair, worry, exhaustion. Though the sharing buoys us for the moment. In the long run it is like using a pool noodle when you’re drowning at sea.

“Thanks?” you say, “I didn’t need that image today.” I agree. I don’t like it anymore than you do. Yet, as I watch, feel, and see life, I worry that the imagery isn’t far off.

“Great.” you say, “Then now what?”

My suggestion, “Play with your words. Craft your story. Write it down. Jot it down on the paper.” You don’t need to write a book. Though you can if you like. But it’s not necessary.

Your Story

Give yourself 5-minutes a day, and write down an anecdote from your day. It can be happy, sad, wistful, or memorable. Put it on paper. Not in some disposable hard drive. Read it back to yourself. Does it hold feelings? Can you see it replay in your mind? Can you feel emotions rising?

This is the gift of storytelling. Storytelling moves mountains. You possess it. Your story is the brick and mortar of life.

Most of us aren’t famous or powerful in the large global sense. But we are powerful in the circle of life that surrounds us. You know the vision you have of life. You know the dreams of your soul. Your words are the fertilizer that feeds the seed.

When you write them down in books, on scraps of paper, on yellow notepads, and paper calendars. They will become accessible to others as they make their way through life.

Someday, those little, seemingly unimportant thoughts will be someone’s beacon. Perhaps even yours.