WHAT'S YOUR STORY?

The late Andrew Wyeth, American artist perhaps best known for his Christina Olson and Helga paintings and his “realist” style shared in an interview that before he begins a painting he always asks himself, “What story do I want to tell?”

What a great question!

Not just in preparing for a new painting but to ask ourselves in preparing for each new day, in making each new decision, in engaging in each new experience.

At our core we’re all storytellers--all day every day from the moment we awake till the moment we sleep--and then all night long in our dreams. When we can’t find someone who’ll listen, we talk to ourselves. In fact, aren’t we constantly (read: incessantly, obsessively, relentlessly!) doing the self-talk thing? Been doing it for years! But seriously, what is the story we’re telling ourselves?

Jesus said that you and I are the salt of the earth, the light of the world, a city on a hill, a lamp on a stand. (Matthew 5:13-16). Wow! Is the story we’re telling ourselves that promising, that compelling, that inspiring? If not, maybe it’s time we rethink it.

So, what’s your story? Not the one others want you to believe about yourself. Not the one others may believe about you. Neither of those stories is necessarily accurate--and neither matters nearly as much as the one you are telling yourself--all day long.

The good news is we get to choose the story we want to tell. Let’s make it a love-accentuating, compassion-rich and life-affirming one.

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.