#winter
I’ve written before about the “One Little Word” concept, where you choose a word for the year (or your word chooses you.) This year I’m again taking Ali Edward’s OLW class to help me focus on my word.
My word for this year is “story”. I felt this word choosing me, reminding me that I need to get back to telling stories. Words and photographs. Stories of family, past and present. Blogging. Food. Joy, creativity, legacy, connection. Those are the things that come to mind when I think about stories and storytelling.
But as I thought about what else “story” might mean in my life, it occurred to me that it might also mean making choices that add to my story. To consider which of two choices would be choosing “story”. And most of the time for me, a dyed-in-the-wool introvert, it means making the choice that gets me out of the house. (Ignore the fact that last week I didn’t leave the house for four straight days. Hey, there was a polar vortex going on!)
Another wrinkle on my word is using “story” to connect with others. The ability to draw others’ stories out of them is an art to be cultivated. I so enjoy and admire Brandon’s skill at this on his website Humans of New York.
I’ll leave you with some “story” quotes I’ve found. Do any of you choose a word for the new year? Please share!
“The universe is not made of tiny atoms; it’s made of tiny stories.” ~ hitrecord.org
“We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?” ~ Dr. Who
“Some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity…” ~ Gilda Radner
“Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can’t remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.” ~ Tom O’Brien
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~ Maya Angelou
1 year ago:
