The Power of Story-Telling

Stories have incredible power. They have this amazing ability to heal us. Academic research actually tells us that "story-telling" has a profound impact on our hearts, brains, and resilience. Our ancestors, often coming from an oral-tradition, knew this.

Being able to tell and listen to my own story was such a cathartic and healing process. It allowed me to see the common thread of my racial identity and journey, and it gave me a deeper commitment to engage in this work and stay the course. I want the same for you. My story healed me. Hearing the stores of others healed me. 

Through those stories, I started seeing people with a greater love for their own humanity as well. I was able to stop “othering” in ways that fueled disconnection and blocked belonging. I realized that we all share universal experiences, struggling and enduring immense pain as we try to make sense of living and working in a racially divided society. It's an eye-opening and humbling realization, allowing us and supporting us in cultivating greater self-compassion.

Finally, I want to highlight what Dr. Brenė Brown names in Atlas of the Heart as “practicing story stewardship.”  Brene shares that, “Story stewardship means honoring the sacred nature of story - the ones we share and the ones we hear - and knowing that we’ve been entrusted with something valuable or that we have something valuable that we should treat with respect and care.”  To this, I say, “Amen.”  May we treat each other’s stories with deep care and reverence. 

It is my hope that we will keep sharing our stories, embracing each other's humanity, and working together to dismantle the barriers within our racialized systems. Together, we can manifest self-transformation for systemic transformation® and create a humanity on Earth that we will no longer need to heal from.

I love you,