Once upon a time

You have a story that needs to be told. You have a story worth being heard. Didn’t you know?When Viola Davis accepted her SAG award for Fences, she shared how everyone has a story worth being told.

Shame will tell you that your story is worthless and to keep your story to yourself.

One thing that holds us back from sharing our story is the belief that our story isn’t enough. You may not have scaled a mountain, cured a disease or anything of that spectacular nature, but you still have a story. And whether you believe it not, someone needs to hear it.

Another thing that holds us back from sharing our story is in the not knowing how to share it. We might not think that we are eloquent enough, or clever enough, or charismatic enough to tell the story right. There is a voicelessness that convinces us that our words carry too little weight to have impact. That fear keeps us quiet.

I know about these two fears because I have walked through both of them. I have struggled with believing that my story is too small. What could I say to people? Who am I, in my insignificance, to believe that I have something worth sharing with the world?

I believed that my story was small because I believed that I was small.

I was convinced that until I have my happily ever after, then my story is unfinished. And somehow people would prefer a finished story. I know how people hate it when a movie ends without a tidy conclusion. Even when people share their stories, we like them to have a tidy beginning, middle and end. We want the hero to have a victory that we can celebrate in. Does my story cease to have value because it doesn’t follow that victorious narrative? Is the hero not a hero until he or she has finally slayed the dragon? Or is a hero someone who has begun the journey and is determined to see it through, dragon or no dragon?

I am convinced that our ascribing to the victorious narrative complex keeps many of our stories hidden. We have decided that only those who have achieved their happily ever after have strength to give. Yet this doesn’t fit with the reality of life. Life isn’t always made up of such tidy dichotomies. You have strength to share with others, even in your weakness. You can simultaneously live a life where you are providing help and needing help. Who created these lines between the “strong helpers” and the “weak needers” anyway?

I have had victories. But I still face defeats. I have days when I feel I could face any giant. I still have days where I have to wrestle my heart back from disappointment and hopelessness. There is still a mountain to climb. I may not have scaled my summit. I may not have attained some mythical happily ever after. But my story still has value.

Take courage dear heart. Your story has value due to the simple fact that your life has value.

Book image taken from quotesring.blogspot.co.nz