Write Your Life's Story

 Analogies, metaphor, similes, riddles--these are all tools to do a simple thing--to distill the most potent  experiences into meaningful and relatable (and generally fictional) stories. 

We humans learn best through fables and allegory. We are wired to sit by the primordial fire, while the shaman uses her wits and wiles to weave a tale of cautionary warning. This wizened woman in white, the one that carries the lantern of her heart to illuminate the darkness in others, she often has a hard time fitting into society, as she can see right through norms and expectations and masks.

Her purpose is not to fit in, or to be understood or to assimilate--she is meant to break illusions.

She is the one that pulls on the threads of heart and spirit, and with those threads of feelings and meanings, she braids them into twine and tropes. She weaves together pieces of truth and speculations, and casts her net over you, to capture your attention with her woven words. 

What can you glean from her? What can The Hermit, The Wizard, The Wise One teach you? 

While not everyone is meant to craft prose to the levels of some of the great wordsmiths, each of us has the ability to write our own story. To aim and steer the direction of our lives intentionally. To craft a story worth telling.

Don't lose your thread. She says as the story descends into darkness. Stay strong, for the hardest part is not yet here. She reminds you. Hold tight to what you are, but don't sacrifice who you may become.

Journaling is a wildly powerful tool to focus in on what you want your life to be like. If you aren't into writing, you can even record yourself speaking, make a vlog. You'll be amazed that when you check back in on yourself, you'll find that when you put intention into your aspirations, those wishes come true in quick order. 

A few years ago I was enjoying an evening of herbal inebriation and made a bold statement. "I want to the be the female version of John Favreau. I want to be a chef, but also be a creative writer. Earlier this week I was reflecting on the direction of my life, and this memory popped into my head and I literally laughed out loud in the house by myself. I may not be big screen famous, but I am certainly learning how to be a chef, and I am putting my writing out into the world more everyday. 

The stories we tell ourselves are so damn important. If we think we can't, then we won't--it's really as simple as believing as much as doing.