Stories

“Once upon a time…” is how all good stories begin. After that, the hero or  heroine starts life in difficult circumstances and move on through challenges to arrive in a shining palace with untold wealth. That of course is not the story most of us are living or even want to live. Our stories more often are the ones we tell ourselves.

“Freedom lies in separating  yourself from your story” Deepak Chopra. By that quote, I believe, he is referring to the stories we tell ourselves about our lives. My partner had a friend who used to say: “If your name is Smith, you have to work hard all your life”, which is a clear set-up for a hard life for the members of that family.

I had a friend who began reading romance novels and used to complain that her husband did not give her expensive gifts and he was not romantic. Given that at that time he worked long hours at a mill for not the best wages, expensive gifts were not in the budget. And I am guessing that her definition of romance was not the same as his. These fantasy beliefs she had caused a lot of difficulty in their marriage.

In both cases the stories being told were detrimental the life being lead.  It is easy to get caught up in story. We interpret other people’s expression and create a story about it: “they don’t like me”, “they are mad at me” In fact, they could have indigestion, be worried about their jobs or be having family problems. So often, what we are interpreting is not reality and life will be easier for us if we just stop creating those kinds of stories. Tomorrow, I will be writing about other stories we tell ourselves.