Tell me a story

One of our unique gifts as human beings is the ability to use language to construct a story. A story is designed to instruct, entertain, or connect with others. Stories not only convey information; they convey emotion. This emotional component increases the probability that the story will be remembered. Think back to your childhood to stories that brought up fear, joy, and sadness. It only takes seconds to recall them. In today's fast-paced world, our stories have shrunk into sound bites. When I attended my class reunion, I would ask classmates about the time that had elapsed since we last saw each other. 50 years of time would be collapsed into "I was married and raised a family." We miss opportunities to share who we are and the joys and challenges we have faced in life. Without this we leave the planet with a void that needn't have existed. I learned this after the death of my parents who rarely shared their stories with their children. What story will you share today so that others may know who you are?