Storying a more meaningful life (and a tribute to Juliet Bruce)
Stories teach. Stories heal. Stories transform. Working with stories, both ours and others, can help us find meaning and live a more vibrant life. And stories may help us prepare for death. I don’t speak about that last from experience. For years I have preached, “Shape the story you want to live.” Now, I may […]
Six Easy Ways to Improve Your Storytelling
Last week, during an informal presentation I gave on storytelling, a man asked me a fabulous question: ”I can tell that you’re a skilled performer, but how can the rest of us work with storytelling if we’re not that? The question sent me scurrying into my mental database to pull out the best points I […]
Saying “yes/and” to dementia.
Saying “joy” and “dementia” in one sentence could sound like an oxymoron. Like many, I have a fear that I might someday lose part of my mind. Dementia’s not a far fetched concern: the stats on its occurrence rise significantly for every year we pass eighty. Being with dementia can be tough for both patients […]
Is Your Story Fact or Fiction?
[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.17.6″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”] When the waves of change are high, stories help us navigate. Still, we need to be discerning and recognize bad stories when we hear them. I’m not just thinking of the 1964 film The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and […]
A little retreat from the heat
Some like it hot. I do not. Or at least, not anymore. When I was a kid, swimming was my passion. Those hot, muggy New Jersey summer days often meant time splashing around at the beach or in the pool. Alas, my thermostat reset after I moved to the Northwest, and I no longer tolerate […]
What’s your legacy (story)?
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”13px|0px|54px|0px”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0|0px|27px|0px”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.106″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”] I’ve spent the weekend writing about legacy stories, a special part of the world of storytelling, in which you look back at your past, while still moving ahead. Often, a legacy story is one that […]
What community do you dream of?
[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.106″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_layout=”light”] Sixty plus years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed about the creation of the Beloved Community. “Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well […]
What about your work do you love, love, love…
[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.63″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid”] It’s been a hard week. I lost a bid to do work I was perfect for. Ouch! It’s hard to step back and take a rejection objectively. A good friend reminded me that losing a proposal bid is […]
What will you stand for?
What do you stand for? Isn’t it time to get a little bolder, to speak up for the truths you hold in your heart, challenging the inequities you see around you? You don’t need to be on the streets, or on the frontlines of the revolution to have your own potent message. The stand […]
Weaving community–through stories
Last week, I had the privilege of once again participating in a Story Bridge event in Seattle. A very diverse group came together to share and perform our stories as a way of exploring issues facing Seattle’s historic African-American neighborhood, the Central District, now challenged by gentrification. In an early exercise we each shared a […]
