Bridges & Bonds

‘Can you believe it?’

Dare’s fiancé gestured wildly as she riddled him with stories of school, friends, family and pet – the rabbit she’d bought on a whim from her best friends’ farm. A year ago, she’d travelled to the states for an eight-month program, but when it was time to return, a global health pandemic struck, shaking the world to its’ core. She was back, but a day was proving to be insufficient to exhaust the pile of gist from their time apart. Some he’d heard before, but over the phone, from behind a screen. It felt different now.

He nodded at intervals, making the right noises in response to her. He didn’t want to interrupt her flow, nor break the soothing sound of her voice as it wrapped its’ warm hands around his heart. It had been a long year without her. But the worst was behind them, she was here now, and everything was perfect.

In the past weeks, the world has been fighting a pandemic that has caused loss, death fear, panic, layoffs and a global economic crisis. But in the middle of this, the beauty of humanity has shone through. From the health workers working day and night, to the neighbours stretching the hand of help to the vulnerable, to the city connecting with songs, and the many families dancing on the internet. These actions created stories that have connected the world in beautiful ways that can’t be measured. That’s what stories do. They connect us, deepen the understandings of ourselves, help our learning processes, protect our histories and pass the legacy of our deeds to others.

Think about this. Who are your favorite people, shows, books and music? Then ask yourself why they’ve stuck with you. There’s always a story involved. If ever at the end of a movie, book, speech or song you’ve paused reflectively, with the gentle but definite knowing that something just moved inside of you, then you’ve experienced the power of a story. One of my favorite books of all time, ‘Great Stories Remembered’ by Joe. L Wheeler is a collection of such stories that moved me and have stuck with me through time.

As a storyteller and reader, I love fiction. But I strongly believe that the best stories are those that we live out every day. They may not get on the pages of a book, but they have the power to strengthen our bonds, build bridges in broken hearts, and open the eyes of those around us to see love, healing, hope and strength.

As the world stays at home, and the social norms that we’ve grown used to get suspended, don’t forget that the stories that we create right now, would stick with us and those around us. So, choose today the story that you want your daily living in this season to create.

Stay safe!

With Love,

Simi