You Have A Story To Tell
I don’t think it’s possible to live sixty or seventy years and not have anything interesting to say. Everyone has a story to tell. I don’t think anyone should leave this earth without telling it, without leaving their mark and leaving something of who you are behind. When you put your stories into words or some other kind of creation, I think you’re leaving a little bit of your spirit, a little bit of your learning and inner self for others to learn from. This world is a magnificent creation and so is everyone in it including you. There has never been anything like you before and there will never be anything like you in the future. That’s a fact. Your DNA is proof of that. I think it means that you’re here for a reason. Nothing in this world is created without a purpose. Science makes discoveries about this all the time. The tiniest bacteria can keep a coral reef alive. No one knows about it until it disappears and the coral reef dies. Scientists discover every day that every organism has a story to tell so why shouldn’t that be true for every person?
You have a story to tell whether you believe it or not. Most people choose not to believe it, but I think that’s a big mistake. You never know who might be inspired by what you have to say. Even if it’s “just” your family, do you know how precious those memories can be? My parents fall into the group of people who think that their lives were of no interest to anyone. They felt they did nothing that anyone would want to know about. But during the last years of my father’s life, I sat down with him and asked him questions about everything he could remember. It was as if he was a guest on a talk show and I would ask him question after question for about an hour each night for about a week. I got his life story down on paper or at least as much as he could remember. Although a lot of it was familiar, there were things that were new, and he shared some things that he hadn’t thought about in a long time.
My father had a story to tell about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
One of the most revealing anecdotes concerned the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and how it affected him. I was ten years old but my parents let me watch the address by the President because, even at that age, I was a history fanatic and this was history in the making. The information President Kennedy shared was sobering and the blockade action and the possibility of a war that might result had everyone apprehensive about what awaited us the next morning. My father told that when he left for work the next morning (he was out of the house before 6 AM), he gave his three sons a kiss not knowing if he was going to see us again. That revelation stunned me, and it brought home how close to war we had come and how world events can shape personal lives. My father’s naval service prior to and during the Second World War made this especially meaningful to him but his fears about what would happen that day were shared by many.
When we reach retirement age we’ve lived through enough history that every one of us has a story to tell. We don’t have to be a major player on the world stage, but we can provide a perspective that is just as valuable. Sit down and write your life story and you’ll begin to recall the interesting times that you’ve lived through. Start a retirement journal of your own and share a little bit of yourself for the benefit of others. You have a story to tell and it will be interesting to a lot more people than you think. In fact, it may even be a surprise to you to see what happens to you as you write down all of your memories. The emotions that come back and the way one event led to another will reveal a story that is more interesting than you thought. Don’t be surprised if you truly get inspired. Some people have submitted short stories for publication or even started a whole new career by tackling that novel they always dreamed of writing.
You have a story to tell. It doesn't have to be about your life if you don’t want it to be. It could be about the secrets you’ve learned in life. How to make the best tomato sauce? How to paint like a professional? The best cleansers for laundry or housecleaning? People start their own businesses talking about such things and have a blast doing it. Your creativity will lead you to the best way to tell your story. Whether it’s an abstract work of art, a garden that you’ve nurtured over the years, or a collection of photographs that capture the beauty of the world – you have a story to tell. And telling it well may be the most enjoyable thing you will ever do. Why not get started? It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!
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