There are 7 billion stories in the world.
I
don’t care what you do or what you own. I just want to know who you are. I want
to know your uniqueness, the experiences you’ve had and the learning you’ve
gained. I want to know your story.
What
is your story?
Everyone has one. No two stories are the same. There are over 7 billion people
in this world and none are like you. You are unique. Your entire life’s journey
including your upbringing, challenges, your hard learned lessons, your
experiences, achievements and gifts, are all a series of footprints that have
brought you to this very moment in time as you read these words.
Every
person you walk or drive past on the street has their own story. Every person
in front of you in line at the grocery store has their own story. Every friend
and work colleague in your life has their own story.
The
old man who lives up the street and wanders past my house each day has his own
story. The girl on the bus who has tears in her eyes, she has her own story.
The boy in the library who never stops laughing, even when his mother
constantly asks him to be quiet, he has his own story too.
Think
about the millions of moments, the series of events that leads each person to
cross your path. Who are they really underneath that exterior? Where did they
come from? What do they long for? What makes them tick?
Life
is a tapestry of people weaving in and out of your life, people come into your
life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. Everyone has something to offer and
share with you. Imagine treating every person you encounter, no matter how
fleeting, as an intriguing story waiting to be told. But the story can only be
told if someone asks to hear it. Will you ask? That person you see standing
before you, no matter who they are, young or old, rich or poor, angry or kind,
is like a blockbuster movie ready to enthrall you. But, first you have to buy a
ticket.
Cocktail Conversations
As
I stood in a room full of people at a cocktail party once, I realized that
every opening conversation was dominated by this question, “What do you do?”
We
seek to understand and define people by their ‘doing’ in the world. For some
reason we categorize and rank people’s worth in this world by what they “do.”
Does
what you do matter more than who you are? No. What you do is only a small part
of who you are.
Do
we care about each other enough, and are we interested enough in what we can
learn from each other, to stop asking “What do you do?” and start asking “Who
are you? What is your story?”
So,
I’d love to ask you something, and I’m not asking a rhetorical question. I
really want to know…
What is your story?
- Where
were you born?
- Where
do you live now?
- What
makes you smile?
- What
is the most important life lesson you’ve learned so far?
- What
is your deepest fear?
- What
is your greatest dream for your life?
- Who
are you?
Normalizing the Question
There
is only one way that we can normalize this “What is your story?” question in
our society. And that is by starting to ask it, and by each of us individually
being willing to answer it wholeheartedly, knowing that the person asking it
genuinely wants to know.
Superficial
chit chat about what we “do” and what we “own” doesn’t have to dominate our
interactions with those closest to us or with complete strangers.
I
don’t know most of the 2,000 or so subscribers to my blog at all. Most of you are
complete strangers. But I genuinely want to know your answers.
I’ll go first…
Here’s
my story. I invite you to respond with your answers, supporting a movement to
normalize caring more about who people are, than what they do and own.
- I
was born in Ohio.
- I’m
currently staying in Bowie, Maryland, just west of Annapolis, I’m thinking
about making Bali the next stop on my life’s adventure.
- My
grandchildren playing and loudly laughing their little hearts out is what
makes me smile the most.
- The
best lesson I’ve learned in recent years is that being exactly who I am is
always more than enough, and comparing myself to others only robs the
world of my uniqueness.
- My
deepest fear is risking everything to follow my dream and then failing in
the process.
- My
greatest dream for my life is to move with an open mind, traveling and
meeting as many people as possible, questioning and discovering as much
about the world and life as I can, and continuing to write to share those
learnings.
- I’m
a spark of divinity, here having a life altering experience, as I believe
we all are.
Your turn…
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