What brings stories to life? 

Here is some of what I heard and experienced:

• In great stories, the personal becomes a pathway into what is universal. 
• Great stories are never complete; they have holes in their wholeness.  This has a variety of implications.  Here are a couple of them:
  • SInce the stories are always unfolding, new voices arise bringing threads to be woven in. 
  • The implication is that great story tellers tell their stories with humility, knowing they are not the whole picture
  • The act of telling a story creates a relationship between the story teller and the audience, making every telling different; each is an opportunity to find new threads of the weave.

An observation from Anne Stadler:

• The "new story" is most effective when told through the lens of the new story.

  For example, blame, judgment, victimization are all part of the old story.  To the degree these qualities are present in the telling of the new story, they can trigger responses from those who feel unheard or misunderstood.  Of course, this becomes a great opportunity to embrace a new thread of the story.

                                         - Peggy Holman