Tag: story

Do you think it’s possible to walk away from an event, situation, relationship, or opportunity and not ask the question why? I’m not sure what the “right” answer is, but I think it’s incredibly difficult for us humans not to ask the question why. Perhaps that’s not a bad thing. When we talk about meaning in psychology, we are often referring to an explanation of why something has happened or why something is important. 

As we consider this question of why and create meaning from our experiences, what would you consider to be most meaningful to you? Is it people, events, experiences, hardships, or all of the above? Take a moment and take a look at the pictures in your phone. What is in the pictures, why makes them meaningful? How do I feel about them? What do they make me think of? This may seem like a trivial exercise or question to ponder but if we sit with it long enough, we may be surprised at how we create meaning from our experienc ...

Recently, I returned from an amazing honeymoon voyage to the Virgin Islands. As our ship docked, we were in breathtaking awe of the pristine clear blue waters and lush tropical hillsides. We were greeted by locals dressed in colorful costumes representing their indigenous culture and dancing to Caribbean music. Quaint shops lined the historic avenues and street vendors displayed their wares with cheerful enthusiasm. One could not help but be taken away on a warm breeze of excitement. Taxi drivers lined the avenues willing to take you on tours of their treasured island for this is the home of THE “Treasure Island” boasting the resting place of much famous pirate booty, ship wrecks, water wonders with many colorful species of coral (who knew “fire coral” is a thing); animals, military forts, historic landmarks, and much tropical horticulture.

Joining other eager tourists, we commandeered a taxi bound for the other side of the is ...

There are many different trainings or theories that I have walked through in my personal and academic life. Each one has offered a unique skillset to help myself and others navigate stormy seas. One of the most recent approaches has stuck in my mind more than others in the past. It is an approach created by Dan Allender and taught to me from an LPC named Matt Kenney under the name of  “Story Retelling.”  The premise is fairly simple: each person at one point in their development incurred a wound. This wound spoke a message of shame to the child. The child then created a vow to be a certain person or live a certain way so as to never feel that shame again. As a result, a false self is created through which the child learns to interact with the world. This false self is the point of discontentment and battle within the adult.

It begins with a wound. The fallen nature of the world ensures that each person will be hur ...