On the Service of Storytelling...

It is within my power either to serve or not to serve. In service, I add to my own good and the good of the whole world. Not serving, I forfeit my own good and deprive the world of that good, which was in my power to create.

Consider this an invitation to explore -

• the breadth and depth of my own good - precisely what gifts and talents we're currently underestimating - and can potentially serve others,
• the experiences we've survived - and the transformational effects,
• the otherwise unacknowledged impact of others' service in our lives.

Why?

Because for whatever reason we've found our way to this platform we've acknowledged that we have more to gain in community than on our own.

To what end?

Whether you're seeking a job, an answer, education, or inspiration - there is a tribe of like-minded and like-hearted peers to be found here.

We may never meet off this virtual platform - but it doesn't mean that we can't wholeheartedly engage - and be inspired by how people show up - with or without comment.

The profiles and job descriptions of folks I've followed for the better part of 15 years - Samantha Kelly , Naomi Hattaway , Jason McGee , Lisa Strutt, MCIPD , or Colly Graham were quite different then.

Their journeys have profoundly influenced me personally, professionally, and in my civic life on this complicated island of Ireland - both when I was new here and as they shared their professional journeys, pivots, and transformations.

Some I've met - others I haven't. It doesn't matter.

None evangelized, all simply bore witness.

Where to begin?

Where you are in this moment.

And if you're about to say, "I haven't done anything important enough to share."

Stop right there.

In the end, we'd like to know your human being - not your human doing.

Human beings can choose to make space for humility and vulnerability, accidentally or on purpose.

Case and Point

Last week, two colleagues I introduced over a decade ago had an exchange of comments on a post.

I was delighted to see that they were still in touch (beyond having offered me an accidental occasion to learn humility).

After their first meeting, this confident and accomplished young professional shared that she'd been nervous because she thought they'd have little in common.

Really? This is Ireland. In the first 5 minutes of any conversation, you've ascertained just how many folks you both know - by clan, school, or reputation.

It was humbling, and I was saddened to learn that I'd caused anxiety.

Despite all my conscious attempts to be sensitive to post-conflict life here, it hadn't occurred to me that two people in a town of about 15,000 wouldn't have something in common - or at least a place to start the conversation. I'd missed the fact that they were from different communities.

Purposeful engagement

There are ample opportunities to join groups and follow influencers on the platform - or to seek resources beyond it.

A wise hairstylist waved off my whinging about finding his successor when I moving across the pond. "Look for someone with a great cut - and ask them where they go."

"I want what they have" is a good place to start your search.

Grace

Those more familiar with Tolstoy's quote will note that I've paraphrased it.

It's easy to lose people in my now decades-long effort to support friends and clients to embrace their creativity. Thinking of ourselves as artists, artisans, or musicians - creating and composing their lives is a stretch. But when I quote some of these phrases...

• Creativity is an act of faith.
• Storytelling is an act of service.
• Prosperity is spiritual, not fiscal.
• A prayer of gratitude is a prayer of celebration.
• There's a "Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity".

...and reference God it's easy to lose many who experience a god concept negatively.

Tolstoy's original quote

It is within my power either to serve God or not to serve him. Serving him, I add to my own good and the good of the whole world. Not serving him, I forfeit my own good and deprive the world of that good, which was in my power to create.

So let me share Julia Cameron's description of what it took to overcome her resistance when told in her early days of sobriety that to stay sober she’d have to learn to pray.

“Surely there is something you could pray to.”

There was.

She had experienced it in the title and powerful first line of the Dylan Thomas poem, The force that through the green fuse drives the flower.

To which I would add that I am at my best and most enthusiastic when I am creatively engaged. When I experience flow.

And the origin of "enthusiastic"?

Filled with the divine.

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