Sharing Stories

Do we tell, or share stories?  I feel like it depends on two factors: The audience and the context.  People tell stories to get a laugh, but people share stories to reveal truths.

There are some stories I’ve told 100 times and there are others I’ve only shared once or twice.  Oddly, some of the more scintillating conversations I have had are with people I just met.  Airport bars, concerts, plane rides, or other airport bars.  Perhaps they share their truths with me too because we know there’s a 99.9% chance we’ll probably never meet again.

I was back “home” in New York at Old Haunts the first half of June and plenty of stories were told.  I love how the fish we caught get a little bigger and our golf shots all hit fairways or greens.  I love how our yearly camping trip on the Genny involves similar shenanigans from well over a decade ago, yet new elements showed us how we’ve all changed.  I also felt such a unique natural connection to a place I moved away from 11 years ago.  Eastern birds like the Scarlet Tanager.  Fields of Maple trees rustling in the summer breeze.  A newborn fawn learning how to walk during its first days of life.

Time has a way with us all, but the places I remember in my youth haven’t changed much at all.  There’s something calming about that and for whatever reason, I brought some pretty darn good weather this year as well.  Telling and sharing stories with old friends at Old Haunts always makes me yearn for elements of the past, but fleetingly.

The fact I have a high school friend who is about to have a senior in high school made me realize how quickly the years pass by.  I heard plenty of new stories about their lives and after so many years out in Colorado I shared a few new ones myself.  Perhaps time is a flat circle, but we all have more grey in our beards than we used to.

Telling stories is great, but sharing stories from our reflective depths can create new connections or strengthen older ones.  

If you live out west, conserve water this summer because we’re gonna need it.  If you live back east, enjoy the summer and no matter where you live, don’t forget to look up.