We each have a narrative to tell about our life. It’s interesting what we decide to include—and exclude—in the telling.
What’s the story you tell?
- Do you start from the beginning or do you skip entire chapters?
- Do you edit out the parts where you flubbed your lines or do you unabashedly recount the missteps and mayhem?
- Are you the heroine or do you tell it so you’re on the receiving end of life happening to you and acting upon you?
Here’s the thing: We all have a choice about the story we tell. Even within the realm of truth and reality, we have a choice about what we focus on, the parts we emphasize and those left unsaid, the degree of authenticity.
Story of regret
I have a dear friend who always tells a tale of regret…all the things she wished she’d done or would liked to have happened. There’s been so much goodness and fullness in her relatively young life, but you would never know that from the telling.
Story of gratitude
Another friend, objectively speaking, has walked a rough road. He’s had many a mountain to climb, both from the happenstance of life and from his own making. But when I hear him tell his story, it’s one of gratitude and happy surprise at the entirety of the journey.
It makes me wonder about my own story.
Am I willing to tell the unabridged version? Am I able to start at the beginning and relish the telling of each and every chapter? Is the narrative of my life told through the lens of gratitude or regret?
What about you? What story do you tell about your life?
