To Tell a Story

I love stories.

Well...that's an understatement.  I devour stories, drinking them up with slurps of satisfaction.  And as much as I love a page-turner; a real person's story is even more fascinating to me which is probably why I loved Eat, Pray, Love and Julie and Julia. Uncovering the layers of a person and hearing how they arrived where they are is endlessly intriguing.

I think any story ultimately tells something about us.  If yours differs from mine, you open my eyes to new ideas.  If our stories are alike, I feel a kinship that someone else in the world feels as I do.

This week I encountered a man that's changing the world one experiment at a time.  It began when he and his family decided to sell half their belongings and give to those in need all across the globe.  When friends heard of this idea, they wanted to join and the group grew to thirty people.  Now there are groups all across America joining them.

I was so taken with his story. I thought about my stuff--not necessarily top of the line, but still could be sold for something and given to good causes.  Hesitantly, I glanced at my bookcases and thought of all the books I'd have to sell to whittle them down to half.  I'm ashamed to say I cringed.  But my next thought went to the tsunami survivors, hungry children and victims of the world; couldn't I give up my precious books for them? My heart softened.

Maybe over time, instead of leaving tons of stuff for my kids to shift through when I die; I'll leave them with stories.

(I've linked to Sadee Schilling's Picturebook blog, and if you'd like to read more stories click the typewriter icon at the top of the page)