Trust Yourself

You are a storyteller.  Your stories are powerful. Your stories will come.  Take to heart the words of Barry Lopez in his book, Crow and Weasel:

“The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them.  If stories come to you, care for them.  And learn to give them away where they are needed.  Sometimes a person needs a story more than they need food to stay alive.”5

Trust yourself, your seeing, your knowing. Gather in groups to tell stories about your journey. Body stories. Time (or lack of it) stories. Mother stories. Heart stories. Health stories. Menopause stories. Love stories. Each voice is unique, yet each echoes the other until we stand together with shared experience to draw upon.

Midlife is a time to not only stay alive but to thrive as we consciously create the rest of our lives. Tell us, show us, live out loud your beauty, passion and purpose. The world needs you.

Footnotes:

  1. Cited in Cameron, J. (1997) The vein of gold:  A journey to your creative heart. New York: Jeremy P. Tharcher/Putnam
  2. Arrien, A. (1994). Gathering medicine, Songs, stories, and methods for soul retrieval.  (Audiotape) Boulder, CO: Sounds True Recordings.
  3. Rumi. Translation by Barks, C. (1995). The essential rumi. San Francisco: Harper
  4. Oliver, M. (1992) New and selected poems. Boston: Beacon Press
  5. Barry Lopez (1990). Crow and weasel. San Francisco: North Point Press.