I have been thinking about STORIES.......our own personal, collective, ancestral, and societal stories. There is beauty in storytelling, in the connecting that stories have the ability to do. Stories paint a picture and have the power to help shape and bring an understanding to the past and future. A story has characters (often times a hero/heroine and/or villain), a setting, and a narrative that has a lesson to teach.

It is an interesting practice to step back for a moment and take a closer look at the stories we either create in our personal lives or subscribe to at a greater level. Then, without judgement, ask ourselves if these stories are serving our own growth and highest purpose, and how "attached" are we to keeping these stories alive. Is the "need" to keep the story going really a distraction from being present and truly joyful in the here and now? Are we looking at the reality of the "story" or just the parts that seem to fulfill the illusionary picture and outcome that we are hoping for? If the "story" isn't going the way we think it should or the outcome is different than how we have written it in our head and imagination, how fluid and open are we to just BE......in the NOW, in the UNKNOWN? Is the story even fulfilling? Are we just so used to the comfort and pattern of living in the stories that we have never really felt the freedom that comes with stepping outside of the story and truly LIVING?

These are powerful questions to ask ourselves, talk about with our friends, and journal about. As we explore the individual and collective “stories”, we can start asking ourselves how they make us FEEL? How attached are we to them? How much of it is at a subconscious level? What would happen if we started looking at the stories from a place of curiosity and consciousness?

Stories are not bad or good, right or wrong- they are just part of the human experience. The stories DO tell us a lot about where we put our energy and what we choose to focus on. And remember......what we focus on expands.