{"id":36,"date":"2020-07-14T01:10:51","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T01:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/animacenter.org\/blog\/?p=36"},"modified":"2020-07-14T01:10:51","modified_gmt":"2020-07-14T01:10:51","slug":"power-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/animacenter.org\/blog\/power-story\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power Of Story: Tips For Writing Our Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Each of us<\/strong>\u00a0has a story that is our own, and it can define how we see ourselves, how we are seen, and how we act upon the world.\u00a0 The following article by Jesse Wolf Hardin has been revised for a general audience, from a longer version written for herbalists and appearing in the Winter issue of the journal of folk herbalism practice and culture.\u00a0 Subscriptions and the 700 page long Annual book can still be had in time for Christmas<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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THE POWER OF STORY
Tips For Writing Our Lives<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Jesse Wolf Hardin
<\/strong>Anima Lifeways and Herbal School \u2013 www.AnimaCenter.org<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part I: The Vital Narrative<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe universe is made of stories, not of atoms.\u201d<\/em> \u2013Muriel Rukeyser<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStorytelling is our way of making sense of our world, making order out of [imagined] chaos.  When you tell someone something as simple as what you did today, you are recounting your part of a narrative that began with the dawn of humanity.\u201d<\/em> \u2013Doug Elliott<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We tell our stories, so that we don\u2019t forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We tell stories, so that those we tell will remember, but so that we remember as well.  Remember who we are, and the why\u2019s of what we do.  What we intend, as well as what we have gone through.  Remember the natural urgings of our hearts and not just the rote recitations of the mind.  Remember what frightens and threatens, and remember to act to protect ourselves and what we love.  It is our stories that keep us from forgetting our hopes and dreams, and that help us remember to realize them, to manifest, to make real and possible.  To remember the plaintive voice of our calling, and remember that we are both worthy and able to respond.  To recount our mistakes, and thereby drive home each one\u2019s poignant lessons.  To remember all that we have accomplished, wonderfully if imperfectly, and remember to feel satisfaction.  Remember what needs still need to be addressed, and what deeds remain to be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will never be any shortage of stories in the latest \u201cmodern\u201d age, but increasingly they\u2019re more like vicarious stand-ins for actual experience, sensation, involvement and risk.\u00a0 We mustn\u2019t forget that story has at its best always set examples, informed, and inspired action on the part of the listener, reader or viewer.\u00a0 It does not substitute for our necessary real-world quests, but incites us to ourselves live the sort of life that makes for a good, honorable and possibly exciting tale.\u00a0 Instead, the trend is towards ever greater degrees of vicariousness through the medium of TV \u201creality shows\u201d, and escapist literary and film tales of superhumans and comic book superheroes, stories that are less likely to empower us than to make us feel small and insubstantial, in need of the direction, control and protection of superior beings or agencies.\u00a0 We\u2019re treated to theater or television screen characters that do things we assume we could never do, go places we imagine we could never go, face and overcome or resolve challenges we figure we\u2019d never be able to deal with.\u00a0 Even great and ancient tales meant to stir a well of courage and a lust for adventure in all who hear them, tend to be reduced to externalized entertainment rather than held up as irresistible inspiration and laudable example, partially due to our failure to notice our place, and our responsibility, in the greater story of contemporary existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Storyteller Gemmah Hannah<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will tell you something about stories\u2026 They aren\u2019t just entertainment.  Don\u2019t be fooled.  They are all we have, you see, all we have to fight off illness and death.\u201d<\/em>
\u2013Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to recognize, develop and exercise our stories, for without a strong sense of our own narrative and how it keys into the the bigger picture, we may well forget.  We may forget that extreme or heroic acts on behalf of others, the land or a cause, are for us to accomplish in our own time, and are not simply the province of historic figures and storybook characters.  That gardens and enchanted forests, instructive creatures and medicinal plants are not just things of the past.  That the age of miracles is now, with a individualized role for each and every one of us in nature\u2019s miraculous healing covenant.  That the world truly is fantastic, every bit as much as any fantasy movie or novel.  And you need not concern yourself with toning down your story.  Truth is like a fish in a tank, that grows as its vessel is enlarged.  An absence of drama is not only un-compelling, but a sure sign that one\u2019s tale about themselves is pure fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo storyteller has ever been able to dream up anything as fantastically unlikely as what really does happen in this mad Universe.\u201d   \u2013Robert A. Heinlein, Lazarus Long<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMiracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.\u201d     \u2013C.S. Lewis<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem is, that without a story to call our own, we may forget to remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, if we do not take responsibility for the content and telling of our individual and collective story, it will surely and ingloriously be shaped for us.  Events will mold us and the tale of our lives, without either prediction or preparation.  Authorities outside ourselves will decide our value, convention will decide our styles, and circumstances decide our roles.  If we do not actively help write and then communicate, we can easily fall into the template set out like a trap for us, a template of fear and self doubt, boring conformity and contrived normalcy, acquiescence and obedience, moderation and mediocrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is for us, whoever we are, to author, embody, grow and tell our story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then whenever anybody tries to write you off, you just grab their attention (by the collar if necessary) and tell \u2018em, \u201cHey, give me that pen!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Story of Story<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe destiny of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in.\u201d <\/em>\u2014Harold Goddard<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t know the trees you may be lost in the forest, but if you don\u2019t know the stories you may be lost in life.\u201d <\/em>\u2014Siberian Elder<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Story is at the very heart of human existence, defining, communicating and preserving cumulative experience, meaning and lesson.  Stories are, near as I can tell, the most effective way that we people have ever made sense of ourselves and our world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The human mind has evolved to be naturally receptive to narratives, and to learn information best through illustrative stories.  In the spontaneous stories that children act out in their play, we witness them naturally expressing aspects of who they believe themselves to be and what they hope to become, and often within the context of a behavioral code, personalized morality, or even code of honor.  This is because story provides us a framework not only for identity but for motivation, direction and manifestation as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without an interconnective storyline, life can seem like only a sequence of dimly related events and dynamics, offering the psyche no place to tether, root and grow from.  But with the development of an overall story that we\u2019re an integral and irreplaceable part of, events past and present meld in the moment into a whole and active gestalt, a cognitive leap and unified understanding that affords clarity and stability\/balance within a whirlwind of both pleasant and unpleasant experience.  In a society that feeds separativeness and disconnection \u2013 that paints us a world where all things seem isolated, temporal and amenable, discontinuous and subject to redefinition or reconfiguration \u2013 story is a way of firmly planting ourselves not only in the security of a specific physical and geographic location, but also in a bed of meaning and mission, and in sequence of events leading from and to somewhere, to one condition or outcome after another: what we could call our personal \u201cstory arc\u201d.
Telling stories is as elemental as breathing and even more definitively human, for while breathing keeps us alive, it is the richness and significance of our story that can make our finite mortal years feel truly worth living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, we must add, worth sharing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aristotle says in \u201cPoetics\u201d that storytelling is what gives us a shareable world, connecting and identifying with others through an exchange of subjective tellings.  When entering a new relationship, we describe our selves and our current conditions in the light of future anticipations and valued memories, of an ontological mythos and sense of association, purpose or mission.
In many once land-based cultures, in fact, it is still not uncommon to hear someone ask \u201cWhat\u2019s your story?\u201d upon meeting for the first time.  Questions such as \u201cHow are you?\u201d or \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d are naturally preceded by one\u2019s first finding out who and what this other person is that they\u2019ve encountered.  \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d isn\u2019t considered nearly as important as \u201cWhat\u2019s your game?\u201d  The respondent\u2019s introductory story may be long or short depending on the teller and time, but it will in most cases include the place where one calls home, what group or association they belong to or represent, and what they do.  This doing may mean their trade, such as being a woodworker or teacher, or the mission to which they\u2019ve give themselves most passionately or immediately: \u201cI doctor the village\u201d or \u201cI seek the healing yellow root\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone, from childhood on, is expected to be aware of and able to speak of their story.\u00a0 It must include, like a fable in a book, an evocation of place and situation (which writers call \u201csetting\u201d), of self (\u201ccharacter\u201d), purpose and challenge or conflict (\u201cplot\u201d), and projected result or resolution (\u201cdenouement\u201d) of what\u2019s has happened in their lives and what they are intent on doing.\u00a0 Their stories describe not only where they come from but where they are going, in other words, their current position within a personal timeline of past and future, on the story arc of an already meaningful and eventful existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cStorytellers have as profound a purpose as any who are charged to guide and transform human lives.  I knew it as an ancient discipline and vocation to which everyone is called.\u201d<\/em>
\u2013Nancy Mellon, The Art of Storytelling<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One who proves particularly adept at telling not only her own personal tale, but also the tales of her association or tribe, are featured and feted as honored \u201cstorytellers,\u201d the acknowledged keepers of oral history and communicators of the group\u2019s core characteristics, values and priorities.  They are the unofficial teachers, informally appointed through popular acclamation because of the skill and wisdom they evince, and because of this, the most influential sources.  The best instructors and leaders, motivators and singer\/songwriters, care givers and herbalists are often also the most effective storytellers\u2026 and are nearly always at least aware of \u2013 and fully inhabiting \u2013 their own powerful story-lines.  What\u2019s more, they are often familiar with the stories of the people in their audience, speaking to their known individual experiences as well as collective sensibilities.  It is storytelling\u2019s subjective and highly personalized dimension that prevents movies and books from effectively taking its place.  Folklorist and wildcrafter Doug Elliott reminds us of an anecdote, wherein someone decides to donate a TV to a so-called undeveloped African village.  For a while, the entire village gathered around the TV, but after a while their interest waned and they went back to hanging out with the village storyteller in the evenings.  One of them was asked, \u2018Why did you go back to listening to the storyteller; doesn\u2019t the TV know more stories than the storyteller?\u2019 The reply was \u2018Yes, the TV knows more stories, but the storyteller knows us.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those stories which retain their significance from person to person, situation to situation, generation to generation, that meet the test of time by continuing to be found both subjectively verifiable and practically employable \u2013 are what we call \u201cfolklore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Part II:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OUR STORIES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe story was the bushman\u2019s most sacred possession.  These people knew what we do not; that without a story you have not got a nation, or culture, or civilization.  Without a story of your own, you haven\u2019t got a life of your own.\u201d<\/em> \u2014Laurens Van der Post<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is stories that shape our existence as much as any actual condition or happening, the subjective, honest or dishonest, contextual telling and retelling that colors the perception and programs the responses of us and those we interact with or are subject to.  These tales include especially the stories told about us, those we tell to and about our selves, and those we truly represent, wholly inhabit, live and express.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Stories Told About Us<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStories are the single most powerful weapon in an arsenal.\u201d <\/em>\u2014Howard Gardner, Harvard University<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople take on the shapes of the songs and the stories that surround them, especially if they don\u2019t have their own song.\u201d<\/em>
-Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the direct degree that we fail to develop, brand and communicate our story and the story of our group, it will by default end up framed and determined by commentators or authorities from outside.  Being less informed about us, our motivations, intent and methods, their tales will consist almost entirely of their impressions of our appearance and assessments of any readily visible results.  Even these proclamations will be distorted by their existing stereotypes, prejudices and presumptions.  And the less intimate and involved they are with us or our group, the greater and possibly more harmful their spin on things will be.  This is what the call \u201changing a jacket\u201d on someone, on the streets.  Women were considered and treated as inferior and ill equipped, before redefining themselves and publicly pushing forth a new narrative highlighting their strengths and abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe answer is always in the entire story, not a piece of it.\u201d<\/em> \u2014Jim Harrison<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other\u2019s stories about us personally can be dismissive, literally \u201cwriting us off\u201d, unrealistically praiseful or unfairly critical, but in almost all cases will be an unbalanced telling.  Even if the appraisals are not mean spirited, they do us a disservice by being so awfully incomplete, poorly focused and un-nuanced.  You are never just what is thought and said about you.  You have gifts and skills, intentions and dreams that few may recognize if you haven\u2019t wholly and audibly expressed your self and your story.  No description of a scientist or medical doctor is accurate without mention of her feelings and concerns, insights and sensibilities, and a portrayal of even the most informal or alternative herbalist will often need to include a reference to their careful keying out of new plant discoveries, and studious attention to clinical research and its continually revised conclusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Government authorities, belittling fathers, bitter grade school teachers, advertising executives out to get our money, and fear mongering Fox News commentators are all examples of external voices who are very, very good at framing, spinning and delivering a convincing narrative.  It is up to you, and to us, to get out the rest of the story\u2026
\u2026the whole story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Stories We Tell Ourselves<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose times of depression tell you that it\u2019s either time to get out of the story you\u2019re in and move into a new story, or that you\u2019re in the right story but there\u2019s some piece of it you are not living out.\u201d<\/em> \u2014 Carol S. Pearson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stories others tell about us, can yoke us to an unjust or at least rigid characterization that affects how people view us upon first meeting.  Similarly, narrow or unjust characterizations of a group can result in reduced participation in its work and events, can make accomplishing its goals more difficult, and can even be the narrative that paves the way for the restricting or outlawing of a group or its practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more dangerous, however, are those untruths or unbalanced tellings that we spin for ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is so whether the story is about us specifically, or about some element of our lives.  And whether we craft the tale, or merely repeat the untruths impressed upon us by our parents or peers.  In the former case, we may be unconsciously misshaping reality as part of our denial of or retreat from a traumatic experience, or we may be consciously protecting ourselves by telling a tough story when we really feel vulnerable.  In the latter, we have adopted a story refrain that was impressed or even pounded into us.  This can be as simple as a dishonest tale about a family\u2019s race or origins, or as complex as a set of values and preconditions for relating to anyone or anything.  Or as insidious as a parent impressing with their shows of disappointment just how worthless their kid is.  Or as terrible as a sexually abusive parent, teacher or priest who instills in their victim the lifelong narrative that it was really theirs \u2013 the abused\u2019s \u2013 fault for what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of our stories\u2019 veracity, source or source material, there are almost always deep ramifications and both predictable and unforeseen consequences to the particular narratives we construct or adopt, identify with and often attach to.
This applies not only to our narratives about our selves, but also to those that are about the people and elements around us.\u00a0 For example, if we were to tell ourselves that nature is dangerous, that fitting-in is primary and intrusive government a necessary evil, we will be more likely to contribute to a reality that is wholly manmade, conformist and controlled.\u00a0 We will welcome restrictions on our liberties for the promise of security, and likely be afraid to leave the security of the \u201cshire\u201d to chance some great adventure or quest.\u00a0 We will surely be hesitant to be and express our real and whole selves, out of concern that we might be seen as different and therefore excluded from the fold.\u00a0 We will probably fail to find instruction and inspiration in the natural world, while supporting endless development of wildlands, spraying toxic herbicides on tightly crew-cutted lawns, and mistrusting herbal remedies. But if we were to tell a story of rebellious heroes that buck the norm, embark on adventures and attempt the seemingly impossible, we would surely come to take risks on behalf of our passion and purpose.\u00a0 If we were to tell of a nature that is inspirited and instructive, filled with sentient green beings whose medicinal properties can aid us, then we would just as assuredly find ways to actively oppose infringements on the last wild and biodiverse places, let our lawns grow or even dedicate our yards to reintroducing native species, and look to the green ones as accomplices to and agents of our healing of ourselves, other people and this planet we are integral to.\u00a0 In telling ourselves a story of liberty and response-ability, individuality and community, connection and healing, empowerment and action, we begin to fashion for ourselves and all things a differently conceived world.
If the story we tell ourselves is that we\u2019re inadequate or inconsequential, it makes it less likely that we\u2019ll attempt the difficult tasks and changes that might be needed.\u00a0 If the character that we paint of ourselves is held to be unworthy for any either real or delusional reason, we probably won\u2019t do the things we want because we won\u2019t think we deserve the experience, and for the same reason, we will have a harder time believing or relishing any credit, compliments, accomplishments or rewards.\u00a0 But when our story focuses on our real selves and intrinsic worth,\u00a0 \u2013 on our genuine character, certain gifts, proven skills, honest needs, sure potential, heartful goals and most insistent calling \u2013 the we can move forward, and manifest\u2026 just as we express.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Story We Inhabit, Fulfill & Express<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.\u201d<\/em> \u2013Lewis Carrol, Alice\u2019s Adventures in Wonderland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one is truly on the sidelines.  None is invisible.  There\u2019s no one who isn\u2019t a participant and thus co-creator of this reality and world.  It is so important, then, that we present what we want seen, tell of our selves and what needs telling, notice our effects, and act to best effect.  That we accept we have the response-ability to consciously and purposefully contribute to that co-creation through the story we truly inhabit, fulfill through the living of it, and express to all who will hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our awareness of, taking responsibility for, learning from and sharing of our story can do the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Honestly describe and define ourselves, for our own self perception as well as that of others
Frame, illustrate, color, represent and help to determine the course and flavor of our lives
\u2022Contribute to the full expression of our full selves, and the most honest as well as characteristic expression of our group
\u2022Incessantly illuminate and explore relevant ramifications and consequence, quandaries and questions
Provide us a means for a consciously and purposefully \u201cshareable world\u201d
\u2022Contribute to a cultural and political narrative\/mythology, independent of \u2013 or even in opposition to \u2013 the  narrative of the dominant paradigm
\u2022Contribute to a needed mythos of personal and planetary health, of personal and earthen mission, in which we can each play a significant, exemplary or even heroic role<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce upon a time there was what there was, and if nothing had happened there would be nothing to tell.\u201d<\/em>
\u2013Charles de Lint, Dreams Underfoot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Storyteller Clare Murphy<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our story can be communicated orally:
\u2022In installments, beginning with the most definitive and salient parts first.
\u2022In a single telling at special dedicated time, for the benefit of someone that clearly interested.
\u2022Not just at first meeting someone, but at every timely opportunity as you build mutual understanding and affinity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oral Storytelling Tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Tell what is important to you, and it will be what you most want to share.
\u2022Don\u2019t think you need to be a great orator to vocalize your story.
\u2022A story is just a conversation, in which the telling is purposeful and the topics significant and relevant.
\u2022Besides live storytelling, record your oral story on whatever medium, for your own reference as well as to share with others.
\u2022People will hear you best, if you also demonstrate a sincere interest in their own personal stories.
\u2022You don\u2019t have to be the obvious subject of the story, if your approach to to the subjects that matter to you demonstrates your character, values, interests, temperament, experiences and effects, intentions or aims.
\u2022Trust the power of your true story, rather than relying on embellishment.
\u2022Speak conversationally in your normal voice and timbre.
\u2022Don\u2019t worry about dramatizing, as your voice will naturally reflect the feelings and degrees of excitement that each portion of the story bring out.
\u2022Shorten your story and speak more concisely when those listening are in danger of distraction or disinterest.
\u2022Extend and flesh out your tale when they are paying attention and appear to want more.
\u2022The storyteller\u2019s success is not a matter of how well folks are entertained, but how much they really heard and any effects it may have on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our story can also be communicated through writing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022In installments focused on various aspects, as related topics or question arise in conversation.
\u2022In a single exposition.
In the form of:
\u2022Detailed letters and emails.
\u2022Letters to the editor.
\u2022Poetry.
\u2022Blog posts about past or ongoing parts of your life, that readers will find them engaging and useful.
\u2022Hand written memoirs with photographs such as you might want to hand down to your children.
\u2022A full autobiography, regardless of any possible literary merits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tips for Written Storytelling:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Work on your ability to write clearly and powerfully.
\u2022Do not wait until you are happy with your writing ability, before starting to write your story.
\u2022An essay or article is just a story recorded in ink, don\u2019t let writing intimidate you.
\u2022Relax.  Spoken words may not be able to be taken back, but until you send it out, your written story can be reexamined and fact checked, adjusted and improved, expanded or erased.
\u2022As with an oral story, written storytelling only differs from relaxed conversation in terms of its relevance, significance, focus and depth.
\u2022Again, you don\u2019t have to be the obvious subject of the story.  You share the story of your self when you write personally (not objectively) about any of the things in life that most matter to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are elements of every person\u2019s story in yours, which is what makes it possible for someone you don\u2019t know to relate to it, but it is in another way your story and yours alone, exactly like no one\u2019s story before you.  Our individual stories are like fingerprints, in that they are specifically identified with us\u2026 and because no two are ever exactly alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fundamental elements of all our stories, no matter how unique, are character, intention, action\/conflict, experience and effect\/result.
The central character of your story is certainly you, including your characteristics\u2026 such as personality, appearance, temperament, attitude, energetics and constitution, interests, beliefs and concerns, values and priorities, propensities and passions.  This authentic, self-aware you sets intentions and goals according to your character values.  Action to actualize your intent, resolve conflicts and move towards your goals, includes personal subjective experience from which you can learn and strengthen, precipitating both intended and unintended effects and results.  In literary terms, action and conflict is the buildup leading to conclusion.  To the contrary, in our real life stories, each incidence of resolution sets the stage for the further efforts and events of a successive chapter, and our deaths are always the closest thing that we have to a final scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDeath is the sanction of everything the story-teller can tell.  He has borrowed his authority from death.\u201d<\/em> \u2013Walter Benjamin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work, then, is to recognize, develop, brand and communicate our authentic, purposeful story.  We first need to recognize what is real and definite in and about us and our narrative, and what is artifice or illusion.  We next need to develop our tale and our character, with study and application, through the clarifying of our intent and missions, and through the conflicts we face in actualizing our intentions and manifesting our successive aims and goals.  And we want to brand our story with our unique, indelible mark, with the ways we are different as well as connected and related, with the touch of our non-replicable fire and spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Don\u2019t let others write or delimit your story,  it is for you to author\u2026 and to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Don\u2019t let others determine how your story is told to the world, preempt or counterbalance with your own
engaging exposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Don\u2019t get trapped in one mood, chapter or scene of your story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022It is the challenges, obstacles and surprises that forge you, as the main character of your story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Avoid stereotypes, which are never wholly accurate and seldom compelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Never let story and fiction or projection begin to take the place of actual experiencing and doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Realize that your path through your story is every bit as potentially magical and revealing as any piece of fiction, and that you are as able \u2013 as any realistically portrayed character \u2013 of significant feats, quests, discoveries, assisted healings and other meaningful acts of service.  And yes, of deep rewards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLife itself is the most wonderful fairytale of all.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>\u2014Hans Christian Andersen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Tell the story of your life, remembering that every story should be made worthwhile.  Tell your story as completely as you can, while remembering that no story is ever complete.  Plant your story in the soil of truth, in the very real world.  Feed and grow it, then spread its seeds of nourishment, meaning and healing.  Tell it any damn way you want\u2026 but keep moving as you recount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell your story walkin\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis part is my part of the movie, now let\u2019s hear yours.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>\u2013Jack Kerouac, Tristessa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(RePost and Share Freely)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each of us\u00a0has a story that is our own, and it can define how we see ourselves, how we are seen, and how we act…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jesse-wolf-hardin-essays-tales","category-relationship-and-communication"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/animacenter.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/animacenter.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/animacenter.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animacenter.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animacenter.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/animacenter.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48,"href":"https:\/\/animacenter.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36\/revisions\/48"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/animacenter.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animacenter.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animacenter.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}