Why Storytelling?

One of my key takeaways from the conference, was the impact that storytelling can have on us and the people around us. 

Jo Parfitt was our first keynote speaker at the FIGT Conference. She shared the metaphor of the Kintsugi - the broken japanese porcelain with precious scars that are repaired with golden glue, a metaphor for life. 

To summarise where Jo took this metaphor (which by the way, is perfect for expat life!)... stuff happens in our life that can break us. But it’s our stories that can put us back together. While we are still vulnerable, as a result we are also stronger and more valuable. 

I found this metaphor so inspiring and very reflective. I have never considered myself a storyteller, yet at the conference I realised that is what I have been doing since I started my blog. 

Each post in this blog is sharing a little bit of me. I share stories from my daily life, I share my reflections and my learnings. I share the little things and the big ones that can or has already broken a piece of me, and how I find the ‘golden glue’ to put myself back together. I know from the messages and comments I receive from readers, that through this sharing I am also touching the lives of others. And this is so precious, so valuable, it’s really what keeps my writing each week. But I am also offering you a connection to me. Do you feel like you know me? 

In her address, Jo highlighted the value and power of sharing our story, it is the very nature of sharing, that our story becomes our golden glue. Sharing our story makes us stronger, it makes us more precious and more valuable, but it also makes us more resilient. Each time we share our story, we hear a little more, we understand a little more and we have the strength to then heal ourselves. 

“Keep it sacred, not secret” was Jo’s key message for us to takeaway. Value the sacristy of of your own story, yet don’t bottle it up and hide it, share it. Write it in a journal, write a letter to a loved one, write a blog post. Whatever it is, find a way to share it. The power comes from the sharing itself. 

This is especially pertinent in expat life. As a busy mum, we need to share our story. Add the complexity of parenting in a foreign context, and we absolutely must share our story. We need to share to cope and to heal. 

How do you share your story? Have you found your golden glue?