Dear Reader:

Saturday morning I got to share some stories with a wonderful group from the Aldergate Methodist Church. It was the annual fund-raiser for the Men of the Church and I am never disappointed when I attend. What is it about men and breakfast…they can cook it…hands down….and they did!

Carol Poole, my friend and history co-hort  (We were social studies coordinators for our districts at the same time and we had such fun working together!) asked me to speak at the Charleston Retired Teachers luncheon earlier and then called me about doing the same thing at this annual breakfast event at her church.

As much as I love writing and sharing my observations of life with the blog…I really miss storytelling. These last two events have reminded me of that fact.

Jerry Falek, master storyteller, made a recent statement in an interview that caught my attention:

Jerry believes profoundly in the power of stories: “I collect stories. I think in stories. When I’m lost it’s because I’ve lost the thread of my own story.”

Haven’t we all used the expression at some point in our lives…“I feel like I am coming apart…unraveling at the seams…someone help me please!”

(Jerry believes the solution is always in returning to the story…our story…we have forgotten our own story or at least a critical part of it!)

I realized as I started storytelling Saturday morning for this group and the laughs started circulating around the room…that I missed “performing.” I missed being in front of people again…and not just pecking away at my computer by myself.

I felt more “alive” than I have in awhile! A couple of attendees came up to me and asked me about speaking at this or that function and I eagerly nodded my head. It is time to encompass my other “love” back into my life.

One way we can begin knitting ourselves back together, following our story’s unraveling….is to look back to our past and identify the issue from it that needs addressing.

Falek believes that many answers can be found in the old folklore and fairy tales of old….(since too many children today don’t have elders in their families to pass down the wisdom of the ages)

Jerry especially likes traditional stories — folk tales and fairy tales.  “We talk about the wisdom of elders,” Jerry says, “but most of us are lucky if we’ve had more than a few elders in our lives. But the wisdom of elders is available to us whenever we want it. It’s in the old stories.”

“When I face a large problem and feel stymied, I go to the folk tale section of the library and begin to read from one side of the shelf to the other until I find the tale that points the way. . . . At this point in my life I’m keenly aware of being at the threshold of the next stage of life. Three faith communities call me elder. I’m trying to get used to people offering me a chair.

“A good story is often far more valuable than an answer.”

Tomorrow I am going to share a story about problems that is based on an old, old folk tale-it might not solve all your problems but hopefully it will make you pause and think about the best way to approach them. I told it several years ago at different functions and then shared it with the blog…(I think back in 2010)

As time passed I began to  notice that the story kept getting pulled up ….so hopefully other storytellers found something new to use for their audiences.

So until tomorrow…Father…Teach us to stop and find the missing thread in our lives before we unravel too far…so we can get back on the right path that leads to You.

After all, it is Your story that provides the solutions to our problems on this earth.

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh