Stories are things we tell because we are comfortable doing so. We might tell a story about why we’re not as successful as we want to be, why our relationship isn’t the best or why we haven’t finished that book we’ve had in us for years. We tell stories about the decisions we’ve made in our lives and why this or that happened.
We all have stories and the stories we tell become companions and even if we don’t always realize it, we identify with them…meaning, we think they ARE us. But they aren’t us. Our egos are the ones telling the stories. It’s our ego that needs to create a story or a justification as to why something is the way it is. You see, our soul would never tell those kinds of stories. It’s in our soul that the real truth resides but it’s not possible to build a soul with stamina if we stay connected to and defined by these stories of the ego.
So why not just give them up? Sounds easy enough right? Give up our stories, give up our need to believe the stories and stop justifying every result by telling a compelling story that gets an obligatory nod from the people we hang with. Well unfortunately people make giving up their stories hard. But the idea that giving up our stories would be hard is just another story. “I’m sticking with this story because…..”
The truth is people refuse to give up their stories. They have a very difficult time giving them back because they have built a belief around the idea that the event (the story created before) has authority over who they are today. Think about it. If you are very observant and very aware you will hear people all day long who say “I’m doing this because (insert a story about something that happened way back when)”. It’s the past therefore that has authority over your present and your future. How much sense does that make? When you allow this story to control you it’s as though you give IT all the power and take it away from YOU.
So, we know this happens. We know people get so intimate and comfortable with their stories that they can’t even fathom who they would be without them. But the question is why don’t they give them up, even once they become aware that they’re telling them and that telling them is not helping them achieve the level of peace, success and happiness they want?
Here’s why. People are afraid to get rid of their stories because if they did, the whole of the life they are living and all of the pieces they have set up will crash to the ground because everything in their life was based on that event. When that story is gone, things happen very fast and your level of responsibility shoots up dramatically. Your ego would be none too happy about this. While your soul would be screaming “Yahoo – here you are!” your ego would be crying for safety, for absolution.
As much as people may not like to admit it, they have a pattern of wanting to be wounded. We tell them to release their history, to give up their story but the truth is, being wounded is a satisfying state. Having that story allows them to remain wounded. What they don’t want in all honesty is to be in pain, which often happens when they initially give up the story.
But think of it this way. When you continue to tell a story, you continue to serve the past. You continue to give power to fun facts that often have no basis in reality. How does that serve you?
If it’s true and immediate transformation you’re after, you must give up the story. If you want to experience the rich and abundant life that already exists within this moment, you must give up the stories that keep you everywhere but in the here and now.
What story can you give up today?
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