The Secret Power

It's always been with you.

Photo by Josh Hild on Unsplash

I was so excited when I found out the secret that I wanted to share it with everyone in the whole wide world!

All children know the feeling. Seeing something incredible that had never been seen before. At the very moment of discovery—eyes wide open—a sensation overwhelmed us and we felt it.

Magic!

This is how I feel almost every day of my life. The secret of how powerful stories are is not something we’re taught, it’s something we learn.

When we listen as children, we learn. I was not a good listener. I was filled with energy and wanted to do so much in the world. In my mind, there just was not enough time in the day to accomplish it all.

The privilege of growing up with storytellers gave me an insight that took years to evolve into what I know today.

My grandmother lost my grandfather before I was born. I wanted to know who he was. My grandmother missed him and the life they had together. Three boys and the last was my mother.

I would see my grandmother staring out the window looking sad and I would ask her to tell me a story about my grandfather. It was then that I realized the power she held over me. All my energy, all my wants to do this or that, they seemed to dissipate with the first sentence, “Okay, I’ll tell you a story.”

My ears were ready to listen and her eyes were wide open. She was happy again. And I was learning the importance of listening. Not because I wanted to hear her voice. Listening and hearing are not one and the same.

But when she began to share a story about my grandfather, we stared out the window together. We were magically connected. The virtual screen, that was the window, projected a story that came to life as I listened intently to every word. I know that she relished those times with me because it would be much later that my uncles and aunts would tell me something I didn’t know about my grandmother.

Growing up surrounded by storytellers was a privilege. But that was no accident, and it certainly was not a coincidence.

I’ll share that in the next post. Stay with me and let’s dive into the power of storytelling and why I am so willing to share what I know so you too, can benefit from it.

Now that we’ve crossed paths, I’ll share all I’ve learned with you.

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