There is Power in Stories

Today and over the last few days, I was messaged by some strong and wonderful human beings. Several of the stories that were shared with me drew me to tears.

I won’t share what people have told me unless they want their story to be know; but, I am writing today to advocate what sharing a story can do.

1. Relief
Pain is powerful, both mentally and physically. If we hold it in, mental pain can become physical and physical pain can become mental. That is more painful than the initial onset of hurt. Sometimes, we need to cry. Sometimes, we need to share. It’s okay to do it. I will admit that I don’t share what I need to all of the time. I will admit that I don’t always share my pain with people around me. Sometimes, I journal. Sometimes, I write poetry. Sometimes, I just sit and pray in my room or read my Daily Guideposts book which is full of stories. I know not everyone believes in a God, but, for me, my Heavenly Parent is the best being that I can turn to when I don’t have answers. Find someone that you can share your story with, too.

2. Powerful Communities
This one is perhaps my favorite. The amount of people I have learned to know better, even over the last few weeks, is incredible. When we share our stories, we find commonalities between ourselves and other human beings on this earth. There are only so many things that we have in common. Why not make it our goal to discover every single one of those things that we can? The more we share, the stronger communities we can build.

3. Better Knowledge & REAL News
Most people has heard about “fake news”. Fake news happens when people take the truth and make it into a lie, or when the truth is taken out of context to fit the desire of the writer. Many of us do this accidentally in our daily lives due to bias. Therefore, if we feel that our invisible disease is something that needs to be known about, we should spread what we know so that other people learn themselves. After all, we experience our feelings first hand. Only we can say what we feel like. Scientists have yet to invent technology that fully interprets emotions from our brain...or do they? [I guess I might have to research that.]

4. Personal Opinions & Courage
This one is one that I love. It’s important to understand ourselves and to know what we need and what we want. These are different. If we can stand up for what we need without being mean, and, if we can stand up for what we want without being too pushy, everyone can collaborate better. For example, I have used the term “invisible diseases” to describe Crohn’s and other illnesses that don’t show on the surface. Many others use “invisible illness”. I like the term disease better because disease have the opportunity to grow or fade. Illnesses seem stagnant to me. If a disease can grow, it can grow better or worse. It is up to how I interpret what it does.

Thank you for listening, and, if you have any stories you would like to share, please, let me know. You can always share them here, or I would love to help you start your own media-shared storybook. Your story is important.