Everyone Has a Story to Tell
Everyone has a story to tell. Something happened somewhere. Stories help us see into the bigger picture beyond our own limited perspective and experience. We can whet each other’s appetites for life when we share our stories or listen to them. Camaraderie is built through these shared experiences, vicariously encountering life through someone else’s words.
I love that we had a whole page dedicated to New Attitude stories preceding the launch of the new site. So many wonderful declarations of lives being changed and clarified during past conferences. We’ve gotten to partake in the experience of complete strangers! How cool is that? That said, one of the best ways to build excitement for the upcoming Next conference in yourself and others is by talking about it. Generate conversation with “God really met me there when…” or “My life was really impacted by the message on….”
There’s much that happens in the everyday that impacts us just as much: A conversation had while waiting in line for lunch. A lyric from one of the concerts. The paper airplane showdown in family groups. Running into the Ninjas. Getting stuck at the airport on the way home. “Hey, remember when…” or “That was so funny when…” also build excitement and anticipation for a great time!
So perhaps this is your first time coming. Find someone who’s been there before and ask lots of questions. What was their favorite part? What was the most unexpected thing they encountered? Maybe you’re not going to be able to go this year; consider it as an opportunity to invest in someone who’s never been before. You’ve been affected. Why not take this opportunity to see that someone else has an equal—perhaps even better—experience? And don’t forget to anticipate and ask for new, fresh stories upon their return.
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“When you can state the theme of a story, when you can separate it from the story itself, then you can be sure the story is not a very good one. The meaning of a story has to embodied in it, has to be made concrete in it. A story is a way of something that can’t be said any other way, and it takes every word in the story to say what the meaning is.
You tell a story because a statement would be inadequate. When anybody asks you what a story is about, the only proper thing is to tell him to read the story. The meaning of fiction is not abstract meaning but experienced meaning, and the purpose of making statements about the meaning of a story is only to help you to experience the meaning more fully.”
Flannery had a word for us as a response to this post. Great thoughts, Luz!
That is a lovely and poignant quote. Thanks for sharing it, Brian!
Just wanted to shout ‘kudos!’ for your excellent writing, Luz. And I love your name!