Why tell your life story?

We are all storytellers. Indeed, for most of our lives, we do just that when we recount our day, or some experience we’ve had in the past, or we talk about our children, or even about our dreams for the future.

Indeed, I find that hearing other people’s stories is almost always fascinating and, in this valley particularly, people’s stories about “before they moved here” are often a wonderful surprise. I am deeply honored when people share their story with me.

Why do we tell our stories and enjoy listening to others? Let me note that I am not talking about a recounting of what you did last night, or why your spouse is getting on your nerves. I am talking about life stories. These are the ones that express your search for real meaning in your life. These are the ones that if someone else is doing the storytelling, you learn of the other’s life experience and how they have processed their history and view their world today. It is an opportunity to learn and teach one another what life is about. In the process of telling your story and hearing someone else’s, you articulate your core values and the beliefs that you hold.

So if you were asked to tell your story, what story would you tell? I could tell you about my Russian heritage and what that meant in my family. I could tell you about my marriage, my divorce, and now, about my son going off to college and how I am trying to figure out the “what’s next?” I could tell you about my faith journey, daughter of an Orthodox priest that I am, my 10 years of atheism and existentialism, the rediscovery of my Christian roots and the powerful faith journey I now walk. I could tell you that mountain and rock climbing exhilarate me, and that in these activities I find those precious moments that I always carry in my heart.

But I could also tell you the stories that are not for public consumption