Unsticking Our Stories

The stories have been stuck in my head.

The story about my dear, dear friend with an aggressive, Stage 4 breast cancer. The one about my friend’s father with a quick-moving form of leukemia. The one about my mother-in-law’s otherwise healthy friend who died after slipping on a short set of tiled stairs and hitting her head. The one about my friend’s brilliant college-age nephew who is in a coma after being struck by a car that turned into his designated bike lane.

Also …. the one about spending an amazing day in a community of mental health professionals and volunteers who work 24/7 to guide survivors through loss and toward healing. The one about what I’m learning about “contentment” in a wonderful meditation class. The one about the exciting new coaching-based program a friend and I are co-creating with unbelievable ease.

In truth, the stories haven’t been completely stuck. They just haven’t been coming out easily through my fingers. Instead, my voice has been my medium of choice.

I’m a talker. I process my world out loud. I make sense of situations by listening carefully as the words tumble out of my mouth. As thoughts fly out, my brain catches them, edits them, brings coherence to them. What has been muddy starts to become clear. What has been painful finds release. And what has been educational and uplifting becomes more deeply rooted.

Though talking is my go-to processing method, I value the clarity that writing has to offer. This space is meaningful to me, and I apologize for my recent absence. Please be on the lookout for more soon!

……….

Coach’s Query

What do you do with your stories? Do you speak them out loud? Do you write them down? Do you draw them with a paintbrush, sketch them in pencil or mold them from clay? Or do they stay stuck in your head?