Monday, August 26, 2013

Can a Story Change the World?


Can a story change the world? That was the question I wrestled with in the car on my way to Muse Camp, a women' retreat on activism, creativity and community where I was teaching a creative writing workshop for young muses. I began thinking about stories that had been highly significant in my own life - the film Hotel Rwanda,  young women's coming of age stories like Christy, Anne of Green Gables, Sue Monk Kidd's The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, and Mary Oliver's "Wild Geese" poem - stories that shaped my life in a big way.

This past weekend 100 women gathered in the woods of the high Cascades for Muse Camp - a retreat on creativity, yoga, activism and community and like much of life should, it started with intentions. We wrote our intentions on our hearts and verbalized them out loud to the the community. And then we jumped in to a weekend of writing, yoga, creativity and community.


What amazed me most was the bravery of young muses from a local boarding school for troubled teens who shared their stories, who fought for healing in a big way. Each of us has profound moments of brokenness, joy, adventures and mystery. Our stories are can change the world. Yes. Absolutely. What makes us stand out is how we choose to move forward and learn from our stories. That is what changes the world.


What story do you need to hear? To release? To begin?

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