Categories
motivation storytelling

This bird has flown

Lamenting about a wild bird that has flown away does little good. No matter how you wish it would come back, it’s improbable the bird will fly back. Let’s face it: this bird has flown!

As I see it, the point of storytelling isn’t to lament about the “good old days.” Maybe they were good. Or maybe our selective memory forgets that the past had just as much pain and struggle as the present. After all, were the good old days really that good?

When we tell our stories, we hope others will learn from our mistakes and triumphs. Otherwise, we might sound like the boring old guy Bruce Sprintgsteen sings about in Glory Days. (Between this song and referencing Norwegian Wood, I’m in a bit of a classic rock mood today.)

A good story has both the good and the bad, its victories and failures. Because life is never as perfect, nor as hopeless as we believe.

Tell your story today. But don’t make it sound like a greatest hits album. After all, this bird has flown.

Categories
accountability storytelling

We all Need Help

In a good story, the hero rarely succeeds alone. Especially in a plot where the circumstances appear dire, the hero has some help.

We all need help. "People seldom refuse help, if one offers it in the right way." A. C. Benson

One of the tragedies of this age is that we are increasingly loners and lonely. We go about self-improvement projects alone and falter because of our blind spots. And it seems to be getting worse. It’s become an epidemic after the pandemic. When we feel we have to go it alone, all hope evaporates.

But we are never truly alone. Keep this in mind: we can be recipients and givers of assistance no matter what stage of need you are in.

Help that maintains the dignity of the one in need and gives kindness and consideration to them works wonders.

Think back to when you were in need, and someone was there to give you aid. That is a story worth telling. Perhaps that story will help someone else see that they can rise from a low place.

An encouraging story can be just the help someone needs.