The Story of my life

The story of my life

I love this One Direction song. We all have a story to tell. It is our story and belongs to us. 

Be proud of your story so far. And of where you are going!

They say everyone has a book in them to write. I suppose we write it every day in our words and actions. We are the players, the actors and actresses on the stage of life. 

This quote really warmed me. It's not just about the highlights, but about sharing the nitty gritty parts of life too. Those parts where you weren't perfect, stuff went wrong but you coped and carried on.

When we write our story, we have help. Support from people who join us on the way. People who add flavour to our story!

Some people stay and some people pop by for a short time. They may help you for a short time. Or teach you a lesson!

I love this pinterest quote. Some people make a more definitive impression on you.

It is your story and although folk can add to and embellish it, through love and laughter, it is still yours. Treasure that and write it well!

This is very good advice as well! People can guide you and offer valuable advice but don't let them start criticising and expecting you to change.

When you write it, be gentle with yourself. Allow for errors and misjudgements. Write with compassion for yourself. 

And write with colour! Add those bright details to your everyday!

You can change the direction and the content of your story. Go with your own inner feelings as to when. There is no set time when to change it.

This is really good advice too! It might not be as easy as just changing your story. You may just alter a chapter or change a few characters in it!

Remember to enjoy your story. Just like all those books you have read, if you are a reader! Enjoy it all! 

I do love books about stories. One of my favourite books is The Keeper of Stories. Such a lovely book about each of us having our own story to tell and a lady who collects them, whilst having her own to tell.

Another lovely book is The Keeper of Lost Things, where each item found holds a story and the items are returned to their owners. Two really feel good books.

These next two books on pinterest look really interesting also.

And this one.

I grew up listening to stories at home and at school. I loved having stories read to me by my parents and grandparents. 

The story time at school was a magical time, listening to our teacher reading Roald Dahl, Danny the Champion of the world and Enid Blyton,  Adventures of the wishing chair. We let our imaginations run away with us!

My love of reading and writing stories began when I was little. The enjoyment continued through to my teens then adulthood.

When you are a reader or a writer, or both, stories are in you! You are surrounded by them! Life is lots of little stories all interwoven together. I love the idea of life being 'a collection of moments and memories' to look back on. And moments to look forward to!

And the notion that we age by stories, not by years! Stories that make us who we are.

I love this quote of tending to our stories. Tending to them and their characters. Adding to them and embellishing them along the way. 

We are made up of stories and episodes in our lives are like chapters. We are not linear in our beginning, middle and end and have many plot twists and cliff hangers, or Eastenders moments along the way! Some are unwanted and stat with you forever, always wondering why they had to happen. Others though, do send our journey in a more interesting direction and maybe help us go down a path we wouldn't have been so confident to go if we were faced with a crossroads. 

Sometimes we needed the plot twist! It gives you a chance to re-decide the direction of your life. 

Just like all novels, life does not follow the original plan and does not go to script. Authors have to be flexible and you need to be too!

Life happens as you are planning it and it doesn't always go to plan! Sometimes, this can work for the best!

Never mind plot twists though. It might be you are stuck on the plot itself and like an author, have writer's block! Ask for help. Go with the flow. Writer's block does eventually become unblocked.

I love this idea. We change the channel for a new programme. Why not for a new plot?

We have so many different chapters, some short and others longer. Some sad and others happier. We need to embrace them all as they all make up our life. 

Sometimes we get stuck and keep re-reading the same chapter, repeating the same pages.

When you are ready, make that leap to the next chapter of your life. 

Keep moving on through your story, learning, meeting new people and having new experiences. Start afresh and keep looking forwards.

I love this idea! 

It might even be your best chapter! So go for it!

It might be that you don't just need to start a new chapter, but you may need to actually start a new book! I feel I have lived a few different lives already in my four decades. So I have been the main character a few times! I have changed my name by shortening it also and this has kind of suited my character as I have aged. I nearly wrote grown up but I don't actually think I have yet!

Some characters may not be with you for the whole story. This may be upsetting. Some friendships may become outgrown.

Going back to when I wrote about listening to books read to me by my parents and grandparents, it reminded me of listening to their actual stories of their time before I knew them. My grandad was from Somerset and had lovely stories of his time there. Probably one of the reasons I love 'Cider with Rosie'. Such a nostalgic read. He was in the army and in the war. I loved hearing stories of him dancing, in his uniform, with my beautiful grandma. Every family has lovely stories that need telling down the generations. 

I love this quote too! We have so much to learn from listening to our elder generations. I still have lovely conversations with my mum now about her time in the 1950s and 1960s. I would have loved to have lived in those decades.

This is fab too! Stories aren't just the ones published. They are the anecdotes and menories lovingly told by people dear to you. You get a little glimpse of the folk they were before you were born. Sometimes we see our family just as they are now and it is a lovely reminder of all the things that happened to them in their youth too.

I love this pinterest quote. We become intertwined with people through our lives. We all add special ingredients to each other's stories. Some spice them up and others ensure the story keeps on simmering away. Other ingredients add substance while ithers give a fluffy lightness. Every drop is important.

I love this and yes to it!

We aren't just stories to tell, or books to be read. Just like the people libraries where you can loan a person and hear their life story. Which is what happens in the book I am reading at the moment and is a lovely idea to help lonely people meet folk and have conversations. It also lets communities understand each other, rather than assuming someone's story.

We are also limited editions, each and everyone of us. We all have our reason for being unique and we all bring something to the table. 

Sometimes people might assume wrongly about someone without getting to know their story. Be open to hearing, and understanding each chapter. Be open telling your story too. You never know who you may help.  We all have different genres too, that we prefer to read. It is good though, every so often, to go off script and read a totally new genre. Most times, we are pleasantly surprised that we enjoy them. The same with making friends. Some unexpected friendships can prove really comforting.

And always remember. You don't have to focus on what went wrong in your story so far. It is about constantly learning and changing. Look forwards to filling the blank pages spread out in front of you!

In life, you don't just get one beginning, middle and end. You get many! An ending may be sad but can mean a lovely beginning follows. 

Stop holding on to things that aren't for you anymore. Not in your new story anyway. When friendships and careers end, other new friends and opportunities are there, patiently waiting for you. 

I am actually revisiting this blog and publishing it in the new year. How nice to view the new year as a new series of chapters. Like starting a new book in a volume. Same characters from before but also new ones, waiting to be introduced. It is exciting starting a new book and I relish opening to the first page, a mixture of comfort if it is a series or an author I love. But also a feeling of wonder at what the pages may hold. 

Look back on your story so far. Be comforted by it. But also, hold some wonder at what might come next. 

I love Margaret Atwood and I love this quote. We do become stories. What kind of a story do you want to be?