Everyone Has a Story

After hitting ‘send’ on my last newsletter, I received countless heartfelt replies. I don’t know why it surprised me…

‘Burning Down? Divorce? Raya? LA?!’

Thanks for the love and support for the hard-launch of my new life in a newsletter. I have no doubt the past few years will end up on screen in my version of a romantic comedy.

I’ve always been the person who looks for the Universe’s sense of humor within tragedy. At the height of the storm, I’ll look for the joke. I’ve done this figuratively and literally, on multiple occasions (that’s a story for another day).

I put pen to paper, looking for meaning. If I understood the chaos - if I knew the ending - I wouldn’t embark on the journey of life…or writing.

Yesterday, I sat across from a woman. A powerhouse. She wants to tell her story and went on to describe a timeline of events. “Should I write a movie?”

When I consider whether to work with someone, I've learned to ask a series of questions that tell me, out of the gate, whether the person is likely to follow through on their script commitment. I learned people were more likely to follow through if there was a buy-in. This lesson unfolded when I taught yoga, years ago, and found myself giving hours of free instruction to people who never followed through. They were more interested in telling me all the reasons they didn’t have time for 20 minutes of meditation in the morning…

…Until they had to pay for the time.

Very much like yoga, writing gives us the space to digest feelings that haven't yet been fully processed. A script can serve as a container for all those feelings. There’s craft in giving those feelings form, a structure through which all those deeply felt, personal events can take shape and ring with universal truth.

Everyone has a story to tell. Whether or not that story should be brought to life as a script depends on whether the person is willing to invest the time and rigor it takes to give their story structure. It requires curiosity and openness to meet the thing that’s summoning them to write in the first place.

…Which means letting go of what the mind thinks the story is about, to make space for what’s actually on the page.

What's getting in the way of you writing your story?

Hit reply and tell me – I read every response.