our stories....

nigerian storyteller ben okri says that "...we live by stories, we also live in them. One way or another we are living the stories planted in us early or along the way, or we are also living the stories we planted - knowingly or unknowingly - in ourselves. We live stories that either give our lives meaning or negate it with meaninglessness. If we change the stories we live by, quite possibly we change our lives."

i think that is what many of us are doing here in this medium, telling our stories, defining who we are to the world (and to ourselves) through our stories

i have defined myself by the stories of my life....the roots of most of my stories (most of our stories) are found in childhood. i learned who i was by those experiences. it was then that i began to tell myself stories of who i was (am).... i have lived by these stories, and have reinforced them time and time again through the years. the sad thing is that these are not positive stories. they are hurtful, and no less because i'm the one who tells them to myself.....i know that i am not defined by my childhood, but i am defined by what i believe about myself, and much of that echoes back to then....

so, how to change my stories, the ones i tell myself that try to silence my voice....the ones i tell myself about who i am that cause me to want to retreat back into my fortress, to not talk to the people i care about, or write...

this is how....by just doing it....