i am a storyteller
through a series of synchronicities, i found myself telling stories at an adult foster care home on monday evening.
it was a success!
they loved my stories, and were inspired to share some of their own stories (a brave pup who was found frozen in a trap and beat the odds to bring joy to her new family, a brave grandpa who was attacked by a bear while logging and brought home both his load of wood and the bear).
i loved doing it, and felt like an official storyteller.
for the remainder of that evening, my heart was tender.
it always is when i share work that comes from my heart & soul.
but my heart was tender for another reason: i realized that i have not been valuing my stories.
i love my stories, unreasonably & exceedingly.
often, they make me giggle. sometimes, they make me cry. i think they are worth telling.
they aren’t all fantastic, to be sure. some of them are even quite terrible. and since no one thing is right for everyone, i don’t expect everyone to love them.
at the same time, on some level, i have discounted my stories – because it is me that is telling them.
telling stories comes so naturally & effortlessly to me that i think it must be like that for everyone.
but maybe, just maybe, telling stories feels natural & effortless to me because i have spent hours .. years .. decades.. telling them or preparing to tell them.
and even if i didn’t, why does it matter? why do i discount myself, or discount my stories, just because there is ease in the telling.
so here’s to the things that we do with ease.
may they ever-increase our capacity for joy + ease + pleasure.
I don’t think self-doubt every goes away. Hopefully, we just learn better and better ways of dealing with it.
i have never known why you don’t think of yourself as an original story teller…
at least until now!
i think
story tellers … good ones …
and you are one …
are born.
elizabeth. a story teller.
Jerry: I hope so!
Tammy: It is funny because story teller can be quite literal. As in, a teller of stories. And I am indeed a teller of stories! Thank you for your kind words, my dear. p.s. There is the beginning of a Story Club story in my head about a girl named Tammy!
LOLOL!
make her younger! 😀
VERY exciting, Elizabeth! Maybe word of mouth will spread more good news of your stories and you’ll be telling stories to children at libraries and schools…OOOooo… YES!! You are a natural with creative expression, Elizabeth… embrace your gift and keep sharing it. :o) ((HUGS))
Elizabeth, I know exactly what you mean about discounting things that are easy for you. I tend to think that most of us do that. I know I do! I am often surprised to learn that something I do that is easy for me is difficult for other people. I don’t know why. The opposite certainly isn’t true!
I am so glad you had such a wonderful experience with storytelling. I hope you have many more!