The Power of Stories

As I’ve walked a long and winding healing path these past few years, I have come to wonder: why are so many of us unwell? Take a moment to think about the people in your life. How many of them have a health issue? Are suffering? Are addicted to doing, to technology, to food or drink or a drug – as an escape from a life that is not satisfying? And increasing numbers of us are really sick: cancer, auto-immune disease, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, depression, anxiety, migraines, allergies, digestive problems, or just FLC (feeling like crap). (I was at the dermatologist yesterday and I mentioned to the nurse that I have irritable bowel syndrome. "Oh," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "everyone has that." Seriously?)

More importantly (and optimistically), what are the tools available to us for healing? This is the real inquiry of our time – how can we heal? Heal our bodies, our minds, our souls, our relationships, our communities, nations, and the planet itself. It’s an urgent question and there are many voices involved in the conversation about it. My own healing journey has been my classroom and I feel deeply driven to share what I have learned. So I write, and I am launching a health coaching practice, to do my small bit to promote healing beyond myself.

We all have a story. Some of us feel compelled to share our stories more than others do. There is healing in the telling itself. Rachel Naomi Remen says that the places where we are truly heard are sacred places. The telling allows us to step back a bit from the intensity of our lived experience and act as the observer, the narrator. And there is healing in the knowledge that we are being heard by others. So we write – and in this age of seemingly endless media, we find our audience. I hope my words will find their way to someone whom they can comfort.

If you have a story, please consider sharing it in the comment section. Who knows, maybe your story will be just what someone else needs to hear?

For more information feel free to email me at danabarron.healthcoach@gmail.com