“The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere.
They’re in each other all along.”
― Rumi

And that’s true of Story, too.

Stories don’t finally meet us, they’re in us all along. Which should give us faith that the stories we write, the art we shape and craft, matters.

We are not our Stories, yet the emotion of every story belongs to us. The Stories that choose us know us well. It doesn’t matter where you believe Story comes from – whether they are formed in the imagination/subconscious or are part of what we choose before we come to this life – what matters is that Story knows that you alone are the only person who can give it form.

If you work alone in your art, you carry the full trust of the Story. If you are the first author of a Story that others will revise or alter, you carry the full trust of the Story.

That trust is sacred. It’s not something we should toss aside carelessly. It’s not something we should rationalize with the thought: “it’s just a story – how much can it matter?”

Story is everything. It is how we shape our lives, how we experience our lives, how we categorize and assign meaning to what we experience here. Story with a capital “S.”

We live our entire lives as Story.

It makes perfect sense that some of us would chose to work more intimately with story-creation during our lifetimes here. Expression of emotion and experience through art and writing is how we grow, expand, learn and more fully appreciate our beauty as human spirits in this world. Humanity entrusts us with the role of adding to the collection of voices who have spent time here and left; and leaving messages for those who are yet to come.

So how do you respect the trust Story has in you?

• Listen to the Story’s characters. Craft experts can advise you on craft. Only the characters can advise you on Story.
• Honor the timing.  Some characters need years to be ready to share their stories; some know you need years to be ready to express it.
• Pay attention to Guidance. The books you read, the films you watch, the blogs you read, the colors and shapes that speak to you – when you’re in the midst of a project, they all have the potential to guide you.
• Don’t force anything on a character. Sharing pain, fears, insecurities, mistakes is not easy. Characters struggle with it just as much as you would. Be gentle and be strong for them.
• Surrender to the Story. Let it move you, touch your spirit, bother you. You’re the first trustee of the story, it should have the greatest affect on you.

You honor Story fully when you accept your role as the storyteller, when you make space for it in your life, when you stand up for it and behind it.

How can you honor Story today?