Thursday, May 23, 2013

stories

have you guys heard of storycorps?

i just rounded up their website for us -
i haven't had a chance to sit with it yet,
but wanted to share it so we could all check it out at some point.
you can find them here 

i listened to an audio collection of some of their stories as i filled orders
and i cried thru so many of the stories.

they were short...none of them too long.
a few didn't move me.
most did.

it's real people just tellin' a story from their lives.

and apparently it started out with a recording booth in new york,
and now there's traveling ones all over the country!

people sharing their stories, capturing this journey of life.

i listened amazed at the range of stories and of the human heart.

i thought maybe i'd pick one of the stories and talk about it here.
but i couldn't pick.

each one had something really cool about it.
even the ones that didn't move me very much -
they had their own really neat quality because it was a real story
from someone telling it themselves.

just think about that.........
if one short story - say four minutes long - can touch someone's heart,
how many stories do you hold that could be shared?

do we share enough of our stories?
do we share enough of our selves?

interesting questions for me as i've been mulling over the whole sharing
thing the last week. i was thinking maybe i wanted to stop sharing so much.
for a little while there, i was really leaning that way.

and then, before i even heard this recording, i decided i DID want to share.
that it took courage to share. and i wanted to be strong enough to keep doing it.

then when i heard this recording, i really really believed that's true for all of us.
and i really believe it does take courage.
and i believe it matters.

so what do we do with our stories?
and what will you do with yours?


4 comments:

Diane in AR said...

So thankful that you DO share - you shine hope, help and caring to so many. . . You're right - every one of us has a story (or several) and sharing some of them takes true courage. . .will check out the site. . .thanks ter

Merry ME said...

I have heard of storycorps but not listened to many stories. The whole concept falls in line with my way of thinking - or may my thinking falls in line with others - that each of has a story. Not all of us are writers, or painters, but creators of our own life stories. But we mostly keep those stories to ourselves, or only share them with a trusted few. That makes sense, sure it does. But imagine a world where each of us knew why the cashier at the grocery store hardly ever smiles, or the bus driver sings hello to each person boarding the bus, or why the doctor chose his field of medicine, or how Terri created bonesighs. Wouldn't that knowledge go a long way to helping us "walk in another's moccasins." To be able to say, hey, I've been there, I know what you mean. Or I never thought of it that way, what a star you are to have survived, or thank you for sharing your heart with me because I feel richer right now. Not all stories are going to be best sellers. Not all will be pretty. But all, I think, will go a long way to breaking down the walls we humans, build around ourselves to keep judgement and fear away.

Let's hear it for storycorps. Tell your story. My new theme song.

Merry ME said...

PS Check out this website http://www.lizlarmoreux.com
I saw her a picture on FB of one of her bracelets bearing a charm that says, tell your story. I bought one to celebrate my publication in Sasee Magazine last month.

terri st. cloud said...

will check out the site, mar. thanks for the comments, ladies. here's to sharing stories!