Monday, September 15, 2008

Life Stories


Besides my interest in genealogy I'm also interested in "life stories." There are lots of good books about how to write your life story. There are also computer programs designed to help with the process. I've been involved in helping several others to write accounts of their lives. There are three life stories on my AOL genealogy website.

Recently I finished reading, The Healing Power of Stories by Daniel Taylor. I enjoyed reading the book. Today I'm going to quote two paragraphs from page 125 of the book.

"As we participate in creating the stories we read, so should we participate in the creation of the stories by which we live. Although every story we hear has the power to affect us, a handful of core stories determine the general shape of our lives. These are the stories that most directly answer the big questions: who am I, why am I here, who are these others, what is success, what should I do, what will happen when I die? These are our life stories, the ones that organize reality for us, give us our values, and enable us to explain our experience. ...

Sometimes, however, our stories are not merely broken or fragmented, they are profoundly flawed. They cannot be healed, only replaced. The same freedom and responsibility that make us characters, also give us the possibility of choosing new stories in which to live. One of the clearest indications of a flawed life story is its failure to give one the sense of purpose and conviction necessary to live life with an acceptable degree of optimism and resolve. A failed story no longer encourages the kind of life you feel it is important to live. "

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