XCV (95) Tell It

Stories are identity forming. The stories we tell about other people, the stories we tell ourselves about the world, the stories we tell the world about ourselves. Probably the most important stories are the ones we tell ourselves about ourselves, we tell a lot of those stories. Who’s we? The voices in our head, we all have those in some form or another. I’ve heard that for some of us the voice or voices isn’t heard as an ongoing monologue, maybe it’s more image based. I can’t imagine not hearing an actual voice in my head, mine is quite loud and expressive. Sometimes it communicates in music, and when I’m paying attention I write the music down and create songs. The music of my mind.

Sometimes the voice is doom and gloom, other times it’s pride and ego. Neither are right or wrong, all of the voices are just telling stories. You get to choose which ones you want to listen to, which ones will serve you on your journey down the river. It’s easy to get trapped in a feedback loop, because some minor or major tragedy starts happening, you start only seeing bears in the road. That’s a saying my wife says, she used to tell that to me a lot, and I listened. I observed her resolve, her self belief, and I witnessed. I started telling myself a new story, and seeking inspiration and guidance on how to craft and tell better stories.

Everything changed. My whole life changed. I realize that we tell stories by what we think, by what we say, and what we do. We’re in the story, we’re being told stories, and the choices we make are writing the stories of our lives that others will tell when we’re not here. This might sound like a broken record, but I feel like this is the best time that there has ever been, right now. This moment. This story.