Stories.
Stories,
They bring us closer.
Not only to each other,
Yet to ourselves.
Stories are the bridge of our hearts.
Awaited to relate,
That's healthy,
Supportive,
And true.
So growing up and throughout my life,
Gossip was something that would always make my stomach.
.
.
Churn.
And it felt like it was eating me alive,
Yet I felt like I needed to stay in the room.
And even more importantly that I feel like I can see now,
Is that I recognize everyone else was,
And still does.
And this is not about judgment,
It's more so around what makes us stay in the room.
Right?
I also felt like I needed to stay silent about it and act like it was all good when it wasn't.
Again,
I mean everyone else was.
Until I didn't.
That's when things shifted.
When I remembered my decision.
I stopped entering those rooms.
I stopped entering those spaces and sharing those spaces.
And I decided that what gets to be true for me doesn't have to be true for you.
It doesn't have to be true for them.
And that's also okay.
And what the past few years specifically has gifted me with is,
We can be different without being separate.
Because we are different.
Right?
Yet just because we're different,
Does that mean we need to be separate?
We may be different.
We may look different,
Have different stories,
Live different lives,
Right?
Live in different places.
Yet what makes us think that we need to be separate in our difference?
We can be together and different.
We can be together without being separate.
I see more for our world.
And that includes you.
That includes me.
It includes the person over there pouting and disagreeing.
And it also includes the person silently smiling,
Knowing,
Yes,
There is another way.
And we all get to be in that room.
We all get to be in the room.
So my prayer is that you tell your story.
And not in the way to be heard.
Not in the way of shaming or blaming anyone else for it or what happened.
Yet in a way that feels empowering and honoring.
Like,
Yes,
Yes,
This is what I've been through.
Yes,
This is who I am.
And this is how I get to stand in the world.
And,
Wow,
What a heart.
What a heart I have through it.
What a heart I get to share.
What a story I get to tell now.
Now,
Does that mean that you need to continue living the same story?
No.
You may be telling the story.
But does that mean that you need to continue living the same story?
Of course not.
And this is where most of us get stuck.
We get stuck in our story.
I personally have gotten trapped in,
Or more so caught in that trap,
Quote,
Unquote,
A few times.
And each time my witness is getting stronger.
And then I would be able to notice it and witness it in real time.
And meet it differently.
So,
What it does mean,
Through all of this,
Rather than telling the same story,
Living the same story,
And that entanglement,
What it means is that your story is important.
What it means is that you matter.
It matters.
So tell your story.
And I thank you for telling it.
Thank you for sharing it.
Thank you for standing in it.
Maybe at times it feels a little wobbly.
That's fine.
Thank you for standing in it.
As best as you can.
Maybe today that's 2%.
Tomorrow's 200%.
And that is exactly right.
And that is exactly beautiful.
That is exactly correct for you.
That's what makes it authentic.
Right?
I'm not going to get into perfectionism.
Yet,
That's a texture that I personally,
We can say played with.
It ultimately comes down to,
If you are at 2%,
And that's all you got today,
And that's how you show up.
For me,
I stopped showing up because I'm like,
No,
Humanity deserves more than my 2%.
Yet,
What that also means is that humanity deserves to see that we're not alone.
That we,
Each of us cry,
And that we grieve,
And that we're sad,
And that we have our highs and we have our lows.
And we get to have them.
Right?
We don't have to always hold the pose,
Because then we can't breathe.
So again,
Tell your story,
And thank you for telling it.
Thank you for sharing it.
Thank you for standing in it.
Thank you for moving forward and through it.
Thank you.
I love you,
Human.
I love you,
Soul.
And here is to souls with stories.
Oh,
A little bunny.
A little bunny just,
She's hopping along here.
I'm on Long Island,
And she's like,
Doot,
Doot,
Doot.
A little butt.
The inquiry for today is,
How can we possibly laugh together if we're not telling stories?
Stories that give you the feeling of an entire universe within you exploding with stars and confetti.
And what a beautiful life this gets to be,
And my prayer is that you hear this and you feel this.
For what you feel is what you know.
What you know to be true.
Blessings to you,
Too,
Through and over.
May you tell your story.
