Don’t you just love a good story?

Storytelling is an ancient tradition born out of our desire to connect and bond together. We learn about ourselves and others through listening to the triumphs and struggles of those long gone, are inspired to be better people by those close to us and learn to let go of our pain by joining hands with our fellow humans to love more.

Tapping into the hardened part

A story told well leaves you yearning, wondering what would have come next and what lessons could still be learned. A good story might leave your heart ripped open at first but it also shows you that there is hope, that you can wash away the pain when you choose to learn from it.

Stories that tap into the hardened part of my heart are the ones most meaningful. Not that it is so difficult to get there really as I’m not one of those that needs a lot to feel.

But the tears that are easily shed are a cover for a hurt much deeper. A good story rips that cover off, allows me to dig into the muck of pride, shame and hurt to examine and then hurl onto the floor to be done with.

I don’t want to seek out my pain wherever I go and I certainly don’t want to hang out with people who exist to wallow in it.

I want to be free of it.

I want to laugh

Feeling pain is necessary if we are to become evolved humans but sometimes, I just want to laugh. I want side-splitting laughter in my life, I want to laugh so hard I pee, and I want to laugh so hard that I don’t care if I do.

I also want to laugh more and often. So I poke fun at myself, kindly I think, so I can feel the lightness settle into my bones. I want to laugh and cry and feel it all to shed that emotional, heavy skin to feel free and light and wonderful.

Laughter is a necessary release for me. And so is humility.

I want to be humbled, often.

A good story taps into what’s real about our lives. And getting real is pretty humbling. I can’t say I feel this often but when I do, it’s perfection.

When you are humbled you transport yourself into the fabric of humanness that is stitched together with love and kindness. The humble person knows that at the heart of it he or she is really no different from anyone else and feels a deep connection to others.

I want to feel that deep connection to everything around me all the time. I want calmness and freedom to be my guideposts so I can love more easily, grow and thrive in this life.

Stories that share the human experience help bridge the gap between what is painful and the love and the humility that lives deep down in our hearts.

That’s why I started this blog.

Writing helps me understand myself better. And writing helps me write better too. It’s funny to even write that down because it sounds a bit contrived but it’s true. 

When I started this blog, I wanted to understand the experiences I would be immersed in starting motherhood so late in life. I wanted to write it down to uncover my own truth, to reach deep inside the dark well of pain and to find the light. I had no idea how freeing it would be.

When I show my heart to myself and to you, I feel the lightness in my bones. Sometimes the heaviness in my heart lingers a while but it eventually subsides until the next outpouring.

So I’ll keep telling my stories. And if you read them, or listen to them they can become yours too if you let your heart sit in them.

And now for something completely different, but not really.

The Lapse Storytelling Podcast

The Lapse Storytelling Podcast, produced by Kyle Gest, just released a very personal story of mine yesterday.

This podcast is unlike anything else you’ve ever heard. And it’s not because I’m a guest over there. It’s because The Lapse is radio podcasting at its finest, true stories gussied up with narrative and sound and so much more.

It’s not one that I’ve told in its entirety to many people. This production is only 15 minutes long but it captures the essence of what I experienced and tells the story in a way that is pretty cool. Pain can be cool if it leads you somewhere that is happy.

It’s called 43 and Pregnant.

Getting there was fun, (the storytelling I mean).

All I had to do was tell my story to Kyle and he gussied it up for me making it sound really great. And it was all recorded in a tiny little closet-sized studio. Actually, it was a closet! It was fun being part of a project in its beginnings stages but when you hear the podcast you would never know it.

So let’s let that be our little secret.

I’m guessing that the story I tell on The Lapse will rip your heart open, dumbfound you and dare I say, inspire you to move on despite the bad shit that has happened.

Please download and share

Please have a look over at The Lapse and download the podcast so you can listen and then stay tuned for other great stories that are sure to make you laugh, cry and everything in between.

This production is brilliant and I know that it’s going to knock your socks off. 

And if you want to tell your own story, you can! Just let Kyle know.

Thank you for reading.

Photo credit to TheLapse.org.