Story

 

     Everyone has a story; some sad, tragic even, joyous or boring but we all have one. I have noticed some folks using a different approach these days in asking others about their stories.
     Yesterday was a two seizure day for our older daughter and after spending about four hours in the emergency ward, the attending physician said to our daughter, "Tell me about your seizures." What followed was probably more information than he wanted or even needed but it was more rather than less and so a successful question to ask. I also learnt a lot about her day by listening.
     On the other hand, when we came back from Las Vegas the Canadian border guard, after asking where we had been said, "Tell me about Las Vegas." I was feeling nauseated after a bumpy landing but glad to be home and proceeded to tell him what I thought about Las Vegas. It was probably not the information he was looking for.... but maybe he'll think twice about vacationing there!
     When I worked with hospice the client's story was the focus of our work with them. Whether they were working with hospice volunteers or as part of a loss support group, whether their story came out in one large piece or in tiny pieces over a long period of time, it was their story and our willingness to hear it that gave the client what they needed: a safe, caring place to share the story of their remembered one. The way that I got started writing again was by sharing the story of our pregnancy losses in the hospice newsletter. It was then that I learnt the powerful healing quality of personal story-telling whether spoken or written.
     What is your story? Who needs to hear it? How do you want to tell it? Maybe today is the day that you begin....