Every spring, I wonder if those mama birds chirping outside my window are telling their babies stories to prepare them for the day they leave the nest. Since I've not yet mastered the language of birdese, I can only guess the content of her message.
However, I'm sure the kids are peeping back, "Mom, please tell us again the story about how Great-Grandpa starred in Hitchcock's 'The Birds' …"
Some of our earliest memories center around the bedtime stories of our childhood, the first books we learned to read, the histories of our parents and grandparents … our very roots. Humans have been blessed with the gift of language and unique communication skills. Every interaction is a story, describing how we're faring, what we're doing, how we're coping with everyday life. No matter their duration or if they're truth or exaggerated, stories connect us.
While growing up, I thought writers were only people who transferred words from their brains onto paper. However, after actual practice, I learned that the writer title meant that I was not only someone who arranged words in a particular order, but an artist who weaves real and fictional stories to inform and entertain, to encourage and inspire, to evoke memories and provoke action. It's one of the best reasons to wake up every morning.
However, you don't have to be a writer to tell a story. You only need the desire to connect with another human being, someone you love or someone you've encountered today for the first time.
What's your story?
