Writing our stories

Writing our stories…

Do all our stories have the same beginning and end? Is it always a continuum from birth to death? Isn’t it possible to think of it in a different way?

The opening lines of Graham Greene’s book, ‘The End of The Affair’:

‘A story has no beginning or end; arbitrarily one chooses from which to look back or from which to look ahead.’

The above lines by Graham have helped put the idea of the story of our lives in a better perspective for me. Imagine our life as a library of books of different genres. There are tragic tales and comic tales. There’s non-fiction and some fiction too. Our lives are full of stories about people and places. If only we had the ability to keep one exclusive of the other as they are stacked in a library. The we took choose to re-read ones we like and forget about the bad, uninspiring ones.

The confusion and chaos in our lives stems from the mixing up of story-lines and in our assumption that our whole life, from birth to death is one single story.

I think we must all learn to put aside some stories of our lives that bring us heart-ache and disappointment. While stories that bring hope and put a smile on our faces might be cherished like the ‘chicken Soup for the Soul’series.

Let’s look at our life’s anthology of stories and strive to arbitrarily choose ‘which to look back’ and ‘which to look ahead’. Happiness and peace in our lives depends upon our ability to make the right choices. Let go of that friend who over a period of time has become a nag. Let go of that colleague who always brings your morale down. Move from the apartment that you don’t feel excited to go back to at the end of a long day. Move from the city that  fails to inspire you anymore.

With a little effort we can write new stories in our lives all the time. Make new beginnings by taking ‘the road less travelled’, which could ‘make all the difference’. Taking risks, making new acquaintances, striking new friendships, moving to new places and learning new things are all ways to make a new start, which means writing a new story of your life. So, don’t settle for a mediocre story-line. Start writing your story for the better by playing the role of an active director who has a strong say in the way the story unfolds. Make sure you are the hero of your story. Be prepared to tackle every villain that comes your way based on experiences from your past stories.

A successful story is all about well-chosen characters who play their roles well and a befitting setting for the story to unfold. The choice to begin writing a new story in your life always lies within you. Make that choice when your life becomes boring and meaningless.