{"id":621,"date":"2021-08-09T04:00:36","date_gmt":"2021-08-09T04:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/?p=621"},"modified":"2022-09-09T07:53:39","modified_gmt":"2022-09-09T07:53:39","slug":"all-stories-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/?p=621","title":{"rendered":"All Stories Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Not only do we carry<\/em> our stories, but we are also made of them. How brilliant is that? Almost as powerful as when the astronomer Carl Sagan commented, \u201cWe’re made of star-stuff! Some part of our being knows the cosmos is where we came from, and we long to return.\u201d Who wouldn\u2019t want to be made of a bit of intergalactic matter?  I am returning to write volume two of SHE after a three-year SHE-bbatical\u2026in addition to the writing project I mentioned in a previous post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I happened to be home in Michigan for Mother’s Day and recently attended the funeral of a family friend.\u00a0 Her name is Luella Merkel, and she was to turn 100 years old in two months.\u00a0 A mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, and the straight dynamic dame who had been living alone up until five days prior to her passing.\u00a0 I am heartbroken not to have captured her story while she was alive.\u00a0 We had not been in touch for several years, as I had moved away from Reese thirty years ago.\u00a0 I may circle back and interview Luella\u2019s family members in due time and write a celebration piece of her moxie and mettle.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luella\u2019s passing reminded me of the importance of storytelling.  Human beings have used stories throughout the millennia to communicate and share ideas, experiences, dreams, and connect.  When we take a moment to unite and relate to one another, we begin to see and state the timeless and true cohesive bond we all intrinsically share.  For me, stories have been narrative medicine, offering a deeper understanding of myself and those around me. I have always been a big believer in the healing power of sharing our personal experiences, as this healing power works both ways \u2013 for the giver and the receiver. The twenty-four women in SHE book volume one shared their personal experiences, resilience, and timeless wisdom, which helped many heal and cope with struggles they had been experiencing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My profound experience of meeting and interviewing women of all ages and cultures has been life-altering. Some of the women I have known for years and others I had just met were connected to them from another acquaintance. Yet, each encounter reconfirmed what I already knew deep down inside: we shoulder stories of love and loss, birth and death, joy and grief, delight and sadness \u2013 they are all woven together with universal themes. A new group of women worldwide will be showcasing their triumphs and tragedies. I am privileged to be the one they entrust to write their short vignettes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We define ourselves by the stories we tell ourselves: The descriptions of who we are, who we think we are, and who we want to be. I am telling myself \u201cstories\u201d now as I become anxious about getting back \u201con stage\u201d interviewing and talking in front of people. Could it be that when I interview each woman, they feel the same way\u2026a bit apprehensive? I never noticed. HOWEVER, what I did detect was that the simple act of having intimate conversations makes people feel like they mattered, myself included. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we are fortunate enough to find a safe person and a protected place, we can convey the stories of pain\u2014whether they are our physical, emotional, and spiritual pain, the pain of our loved ones, or the pain of the world we live in. I know that each of the women I have interviewed and will soon meet offers that sanctuary to them and me.\u00a0 This is where we find out who we are – together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I begin interviewing and writing volume two, this next journey will offer a whole new experience and new one-on-one exchanges to reveal and refine myself and the woman sharing her story in a larger context. Each version we play together exposes a different story.\u00a0 My hands get shaky, and my neck beads with sweat, merely thinking about how excited I am to begin the process of putting myself front, center, and responsible for the next volume of SHE stories.\u00a0 I am and will always be an advocate of honoring each other\u2019s life strengths and struggles. That seems to be the best form of gathering the wisdom of humanity that we can offer to one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone around us has a story and all stories matter \u2013 which must be magnified for the little nuggets of wisdom to rise to the surface so the world can hear them. All the stories I have listened to continue to link me to my past, present, and future, unite me to my vulnerable storyteller on a deeper level, and connect me with the universe of stories within and around each of us. I am grateful for this opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheers to you, Luella, and all the \u201csupernova storytellers,\u201d never outshining each other, only swirling together\u2014an entire galaxy of stars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not only do we carry our stories, but we are also made of them. How brilliant is that? Almost as powerful as when the astronomer Carl Sagan commented, \u201cWe’re made of star-stuff! Some part of our being knows the cosmos is where we came from, and we long to return.\u201d Who wouldn\u2019t want to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,3,32,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-death","category-empowerment","category-living","category-women-of-strength"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=621"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":625,"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621\/revisions\/625"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}