“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn”

~ Benjamin Franklin

Photo Credit Quaritsch Photography on Unsplash

Research suggests that if I met you last night, I’d forget 60% of what you told me by the following day.
 And by the end of the week, I’d forget 80% of what you told me. 
But if you tell me a story, I’m six times more likely to remember you.

I am a storyteller and listen closely to the stories people share. I live my life most of the time from my heart, not from my mind. Not purposely. It came with me from the very beginning. I once read a quote by Simon Cowell that has given me a new way to interacted with people.

“My dad did teach me a very important lesson about people when he explained to me that everybody around you will have an invisible sign on their head, which says, ‘Make me feel important.’”
~ Simon Cowell

So, I experimented with these wise words and found my place with people when I asked them questions about themselves. And it works. It is the courage to share our stories that makes us memorable.

And the genuine responses we receive from each other are what connect us.

Back in 2021, my world within shifted. I gained insights and became aware of an enormous space in me that could cover the earth with a single breath. When uncovered, ah…the incredible things I was able to see!

I took a daring and cautious step into the world of Medium.com, where writers and readers, young and more seasoned, from all over the world came to share their stories.

When I turned the knob and slowly opened the door, what I witnessed was authenticity at its most vulnerable times, and it made me feel as if I had become Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. The air of wisdom and fascination floated through stories, poems, and pictures that scooped me into its arms and welcomed me home.

After the first story I published, “Cancer a Positive Teacher,” the response I received was genuine and encouraging. Throughout the weeks ahead, the validating reactions that came in were just what I needed to realize how valuable my writing ability was. There was no turning back for me. Like a young girl, I took down the box of stories I had written and stored away for years from the top shelf of the bedroom closet, excited to share with all her friends the jewels she had secretly saved.

A special kind of dynamic exists between writers and readers. I’ve learned that the vibration we carry moves through our energy and is what fuses us together. And, as time passed, the openness we shared about our experiences solidified our friendships. By the style and uniqueness of their stories, many writers prompted me to come out of my secure corner and remember that there are no mistakes, just different avenues to explore.

On the other spectrum, being open to learn from others of all ages is key to experience the rich freshness and clarity that is out there for us to soak up and explore. You know the saying, ‘You cannot teach an old dog new tricks.” Well, I am proof that that statement is not valid. We can get stubborn, and so set in our ways as we age, that we will use that statement as an excuse not to listen, get up, and explore our capabilities in creativity. The potential gifts we carry will never be complete. We put a ‘lid’ on it and seal it. Why do we do this?

I have learned much about myself these last two and a half years, and one essential piece I realized is that at my age, I can still grow and bring new ideas and wisdom to the table of life that I didn’t know existed in myself before.

Because of stepping out of what has always felt ‘safe,’ I am now experiencing life with the creativity I never knew was possible. My eyes and heart see the world differently. The confidence in who I am and my purpose as I walk this earth is currently on a firmer, more courageous foundation. And in moments of feeling I have faltered, I now say, “so what, I will look for other possibilities.” Nobody ‘really’ cares, and if they do ~ maybe it is time for them to dig deeper within themselves and find out why they care if I fail at something or not.

I believe we are here to learn as much as we can, and stepping into the unknown or facing failure is essential for growth. How else can we gain the wisdom to show others that not only can we survive in unfamiliar territory, but we can flourish—and so can they?

A few months back, I read a quote by Neale Donald Walsch that hit home with me.

"You are afraid to die, and you're afraid to live. What a way to exist.”

I used to live like this and how many of us still do? I am in my late sixties and will be around for who knows how long, so do I want to waste this precious time by allowing ‘fear’ to control the rest of my journey? As I wrote this story, I could see how taking a small step onto the writing platform of Medium changed the path I had been walking on safely to a path of challenges and utter joy.

There comes a time when we all have to leave the comfort of ‘home’ and go out and explore the world on our own.

I recently decided to leave Medium. It was time. I stepped onto my platform one more time, removed my stories, cleaned up loose ends and let the ones I felt closest to know I was heading out, and then turned off the lights and quietly shut the door for the last time. It was bittersweet, but now that I have my blog and newsletter with a social media company that will continue to guide me in my work, I am free to expand my horizons and explore the unknown gifts that are waiting for me.

I’m not saying we should not be cautious when there is a need, but as in sharing my stories or any of the creative work sitting within me quietly waiting to be called forth, why not? In the last six months, two wonderful friends have made their transition from the world and have shown us that in the blink of an eye, we are no longer here, and what you had always wanted to achieve but didn’t, goes with you, and we lose because what we could have learned from you is no longer tangible.

The bottom line here is ~ it is a brand-new year…to begin again.

One of the most beautiful gifts we can give to the world and the young people who look up to us is to step over our fears and judgments of ourselves and enjoy exploring our potential for accomplishing that dream or purpose we’ve always hoped to achieve.🦋

Thought to ponder:
Whatever has been calling you to venture out to do differently, what is stopping you, and what excuses are waiting to give you reasons not to?

It is a new day…every day. Dare to explore. We have nothing to lose and so much to gain.