“Some people long for a life that is simple and planned – tied with a ribbon. Some people won’t sail the sea ‘cause they’re safer on land – to follow what is written. But I’d follow you to the great unknown…..” Lyrics from: Tightrope, The Greatest Showman
A Great Story
The heartbeat of whølehearted is great stories. And to be more specific, connecting people to great stories. We all love connecting to a great story through reading a book or watching a movie,
but what about thinking of our own life as a great story? Do we like that story? I would venture to guess many of us accept our story, while fewer like or love it and even fewer see it as epic or timeless. Why is this? Life happens. It is complicated. We settle, we drift, we survive, we get distracted, we get taken out and years pass and we begin to accept our story as less than maybe we dreamed it could be.
I believe hardwired in all humans is the desire to be a part of a great story, one that is larger than us. It is also my belief that there is one major roadblock that collectively stands in our way. We all want to tell an epic story with our life. Yes. BUT. . . We all want to do so comfortably and safely. We want that epic outcome with an easy path if possible. Yet I’m not sure epic and easy go hand in hand. I have trouble recalling a great books or movies where the main character’s easy and safe life choices lead to a predictable and comfortable outcomes. Yet that is the life many of us fall into. That is where the current of life often leads.
To tell a great story, which makes life come alive and makes our struggles meaningful and worthwhile requires a few things. Most of all great stories require great risks. Risk requires strength. Strength comes after one has a firm footing and a firm footing requires growth. Growth, personal growth, is the step that people unanimously do not enjoy. It is the core of the process, but it is the hidden step. The risk gets attention, the strength gets admired, the firm footing gets applauded, but it is the growth that makes it all possible.
Sometimes for some people a huge unexpected life event propels them into a story greater than themselves in which they must draw from courage and strength in the face of great hardship. The movies are filled with these stories, but what about the real world? More often real life’s great stories begin with persistent personal growth. It can be mundane, raw and not glamorous like it is in Hollywood screenplays. It requires a certain dedication to grow into the person that we want to become but feel like we are currently inadequate to be.
I have found in my life that this has come from “seeds” maybe more than anything else. “Seeds”: little bits of knowledge or encouragement or words of wisdom here and there that make tiny shifts in the way I see the world and the way I see myself. These tiniest shifts, that are often not even noticeable until after the fact, have turned into bigger seeds and bigger shifts that have made my life more meaningful and fulfilling, and above all else, more enjoyable to live.
Seeds: that is entirely our goal with this blog- tiny seeds. Little bits of thought that could perhaps make the tiniest shift in a person’s life story so that a person can in some tiny degree believe he or she is an epic movie worthy character in their own story. One seed at a time.
Matthew 13: 31-32 The kingdom of heaven is like a tiny mustard seed, which man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.