Thursday: I Want to Be a Storyteller Who Invites Imperfect Stories to be Told

Summary

The author aspires to be a storyteller who encourages the sharing of authentic, imperfect stories, inspired by Maya Angelou's wisdom and their own experiences at Schumacher College.

Abstract

The web content reflects on the art of storytelling, with the author drawing inspiration from Maya Angelou, who is admired for her wisdom, humor, and the impact of her life's work. The author recounts their own journey through storytelling courses, contrasting an intimidating instructor with another who fostered a supportive environment that encouraged participants to share their stories. Emphasizing the importance of making others feel heard and valued, the author commits to bringing this nurturing approach to storytelling into the new year. The text concludes with a poetic reflection on connection and a personal note thanking a friend for a prompt that inspired this contemplation, inviting readers to connect through the beauty of the planet or via social media.

Opinions

Maya Angelou is revered as a role model for her fun, imperfect, and wise nature, and her ability to inspire others through her actions and words.
The author values the feeling storytelling evokes in people over the specific content of the stories, quoting Angelou's insight on the lasting impact of emotions.
The author believes that everyone has valuable stories to tell and that limiting beliefs often prevent people from sharing them.
A contrast is made between two storytelling instructors: one who was daunting and silenced others, and another who was empowering

Not to be daunting. That’s who I want to be.

Maya Angelou is one of my role models. She was fun. She was imperfect. She was mighty wise. And she did things in her life I would never dare. I can’t live up to her. But I can take her wise advice at heart:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou

That’s my storytelling me. We all have stories to tell. We all want to be heard. And we all limit ourselves with the stories we tell to ourselves. About not being good enough. About others being right about us when they are just being mean.

I once did two storytelling courses at Schumacher College. The first one had a great storyteller. He was amazing. And daunting. When he had told his story nobody dared to go next.

The second one was even more amazing. But he made us feel like we all had amazing stories as well. And everybody fell over themselves to be next. Tell their story. And listen to others. And laugh. And share.

That’s the storytelling me I want to be!

And that’s the storytelling me I take into 2021. Meet you there!

Connected

You came and you listened. You laughed and you shared. Your eyes had the sparkle of twin stars.

Your crow’s feet cackled. Your light shone bright. Your hands danced the words into meaning.

You made me dare. You made me share. And our thread… our thread… never broke.

Happy New Year’s Eve my friends. And thanks, 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘊. for giving me the prompt to end this year with.

If you want to connect, you can find me somewhere on this beautiful planet. My hands in the soil and my gaze focused on the stars. Or you can find me via Linktree.

STORYTELLING

Thursday: I Want to Be a Storyteller Who Invites Imperfect Stories to be Told

Not to be daunting. That’s who I want to be.

Connected

Weekly Prompt: 28-31.12

Last few days of reflection of 2020

Sleeping and Walking Are More Valuable than Gold Now

Night and day, you can be healing too