Stories are powerful and priceless! They are full of life, the feel goods and the hurts, but what is it about a story that makes it so powerful and priceless? All living and non-living things have a story, and many of those stories are waiting to be told… it is up to you if you wish to listen to the story!

In today’s blog, there will be three passages from the same book. This series, I think it is going to be a trilogy, is such an incredible read! It is one of my favorite series to date, along with a few other authors that write and world build just as beautifully.

The passages below are from the second book of The Tales of Tremaine, written by R.R. Virdi. Side note.. I am anxiously awaiting the release date of the third book!!!

“A story is a thread…but that is only the beginning… they fray, spread, some are taken off to new paths, others break and are born anew and again. Together they make something larger, more complex than anything you can ever know.”

The Doors of Midnight, By: R. R. Virdi

“The simplest of stories is a tapestry with so many threads, all tied tight together so that you cannot hope to make them all out at first look. Even with a thousand times your attention given to one piece, you would not find them all. And so, even the humblest of things has this in them, and then again— Ten thousand times more. So how can anyone come to understand a thing at first chance of seeing it’s face?”

The Doors of Midnight, By: R. R. Virdi

“All things have the wish to be loved as they are, and not for what they could wish to be. To be loved for what they have, and not put aside for what they lack.”

“But a story is a song without a melody. You cannot break a piece of music and expect it to remain whole. But stories can be broken— parts remembered, and still carry enough to have life of their own, and then that life begins something new in a new shape. Not so with song. You keep it whole, or you keep none of it.”

The Doors of Midnight, By: R. R. Virdi

Stories are wonderful and important parts of who and what make this world so incredible. Yes, not all stories bring thoughts of joy, love, or feelings of comfort, but even those stories can teach and guide us to a better place of understanding. Several of the passages above compare stories to threads, songs, and tapestries. This could not be more true, and it is such a beautiful way to represent what a story can bring to life. Stories make up our lives, whether they are through something living, non-living, or tangible. Stories define us, which makes us all unique in our own ways. There is no two things that are EXACTLY the same, which helps create a world full of color instead of darkness.

Stories can be told through a variety of ways, and sometimes a story can be totally silent. Each story deserves to be heard, each story deserves to be told, and each story deserves the proper time to tell the full story. Many people don’t always think about how much our life is shaped by stories, true or made up, but it is through those stories that we create memories, lessons, and gratitude. As previously stated above, not all stories are positive and fill the air with colorful images, but those stories still deserve to be heard. You can’t force a story to be told because if you do, you will not be getting the true, raw, and heartfelt story. In the first passage, it stated that stories are threads that can fray and spread and can in turn create new paths. Stories also truly require observance and attention to detail. But most of all, stories deserve to be believed!

I will end this post with a small story about myself, and how I turned something so horrific into something beautiful. …Becoming a social worker, while my youngest son was still a toddler, helped me realize that I can help others who have also been through horrific and traumatic experiences. I became a social worker due to an abusive relationship, both emotionally and physically, and while the memories will forever stay with me, I will not let them rule my life. Therapy is a wonderful and incredibly hard journey to take, and takes a tremendous amount of time to heal. These journeys can be treacherous and times, but you have to dig through the trenches to become stronger. You have to fight to dig yourself out of your situation, and while you are fighting in the trenches, you have to also have hope! As it is within the trenches that you find out what your strength really is, and in turn, helps you overcome the dark and treacherous path. As you slowly start to see the light shine through the darkness, you start to see how incredibly powerful and strong you have become, as a person. You start to feel the weight lift that was holding you down, and you can fully breathe in the beauty of overcoming the hurt and pain you endured. You start to see the beauty and joy in life, and start to not take things for granted. As I said in a previous post, life will continue to throw you curve balls, but each story and experience helps you to conquer and overcome the hit from that curve ball! I have and will continue to help others see that there is hope and strength in each of us, but sometimes it takes someone else to tell us this critical piece of information. As I know from my own experiences, you can’t force someone to see the light, or have the lightbulb go off for them, you can simply be a positive support until they are ready to start to dig out of the trenches.

The question that I will leave you to ponder today is this…

What is your story? What stories have shaped our world, for the positive or the negative?

….Some of my favorite stories are from those who have lived and survived through some of the worst parts of our history. As well as from stories told by those in hospice care. You are probably wondering why because they are not the most uplifting stories. Well, I will tell you that through each of those tragic and heartbreaking stories, comes lessons that we all can learn from in our life. Which then can in turn be passed down to our younger children, and so on and so forth. Stories from those patients who are nearing the end of their beautiful life, tend to tell stories of love, joy, and then they tend to also share stories of the regrets. These are the stories that can also shape us, as humans, to be better to our friends, family, and to our entire world. We all deserve to have our stories told, and they all deserve to be heard!

With love,

Sarah Crocker