The Story

I drove home in the dark tonight listening to The Story on NPR. My headlights lit the guard-rails of snow on either side of the road and I settled in for the 25 minute drive as The Story started. I felt, as I always do after deep snows, comforted by the thick blanket of winter. The new landscape all around came as a welcomed break from what can be a monotonous drive these days. I felt pleasantly bundled in hat and gloves gripping the steering wheel with the voices on the radio as companions. The Story began with reflection from a woman that experienced something that I did as well, many years ago and I assumed that I would have good company the entire way home if I could go there again with her for a brief while.

Most of the time I think we are ambivalent about other people's stories. After all, we all have one. If there is one thing that I have grown used to lately it is hearing other people's stories. The counter at Nomad sometimes serves as a quazi-therapy couch where we are all rather relaxed and open; me, the staff and our patrons. And most of the time, we barely nick the surface of what really lies behind the life of the other. What we share in our brief passing is subcutis to the network of life behind our persona. I've come to realize that we're blessed if we really know another human being in this life...If we really listen to them. It takes grace and patience, that of which I'm in short supply. But Listening is an Act of Love...

So I thought about it. As I sometimes do. Okay, my brain never stops so of course I thought more about it. When we listen, like I listened to The Story tonight, living goes to a place where we have no choice but to grow. Another's story becomes a small part of ours because if we learned anything in kindergarten, it's that life isn't just about us. And if we read stories, likewise, life is richer...complex and worth every effort to find resonance or purpose in another's experience. I encourage you to pick up a copy of Listening is an Act of Love, a new compilation by the Storycorps Project. Their whole purpose for 4 years has been to capture everyday people sharing their story in 40 minute recorded sessions. The book comes after 10,000 interviews; each unique and candid, honest to the point of being beautiful pieces of prose. You have to hear these.

I also caught wind recently of a bookstore in Alaska who has hosted evenings that invite people to come in and tell their "scar story". Right there, bare the physical scar that you have and tell the story behind it. It all began after one staffer was telling another about her scar. The listening staffer then revealed her own and they compared their wounds. It was blogged about and it took off. 18 more stories followed on their blog and a then full blown series of "scar story" evenings followed. All because of people's stories. I think Nomad needs a Scar Story night...what we would learn is that our collective story [yes, in Jackson] is worth stopping everything to listen to.