"Only connect"

So, now that I have a little more time on my hands. I decided to rectify my blog from the ashes. I made a promise to myself at the beginning of the year that I was going to blog more and that I was going to keep it up. Well I didn't. It died when I got too busy for it. But this time, I want things to be different. I want to tell a story...

See, I watched two beautiful, amazing movies today that are two total opposites in plot, character, setting, etc. but impacted me in a very unexpected way. (I'll talk about them in later posts) They both reminded me of how special and unique a single life on this Earth is. They reminded me of the importance of living out your story or life that God has given you, and living it to the fullest.

In my opinion, we live in a world where few people's lives are celebrated. What I mean by this, is that we live in a world where often we hardly read the news, we don't talk to our neighbors, we sit next to people on a bus or a train and we don't say a word, we walk in and out of so many people's lives daily without ever mentioning a single word. And too often there is judgment passed on whose story is worth telling and whose isn't. To use an example, Tom Cruise can get a feature in People magazine, but a single mom who spends her entire life raising a family and reaching out to high school youth in her community doesn't ever hear her story told.

I want to change that. I want to tell stories that have never been told. Can I help tell everyone's story? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. But are there stories out there that I can share that no one's ever heard that are worth telling? Of course there are. And hopefully, even if your story is never told, there is a part of you that can connect and relate

Ever since I was in high school, I realized I have had a passion for telling stories. I loved (and still do) writing poetry and short stories that involved my friends and people close to me. I like the personal feel of telling a story. I like how no story is ever told the same way twice, with the exact same words, images, emotions, feeling, perception to detail, perspective, etc. I like showing people a different way to not only see themselves, but to see the world around them. I get my greatest joy from knowing that through story I have intimately connected with a person in a way that only my words and feelings can. The great Modernist writer E.M. Forster once said, "The only thing that matters in this world, is...only...to connect." I agree with Mr. Forster. and that's why I want to write this.

I have reservations about making these claims. Every time I have thought about starting this blog, I have been met with my own fears. I've tried this before. I've made bold claims about my passion for telling stories before and never seriously lived it out. What if my head is bigger than my heart? What if I lose heart on this idea and never have another post on this blog again? Will I have failed? Will this passion for telling stories die by the wayside through my neglect?

Again, I am faced with the truth. The answer to those questions is...Of course not. If I never type another word on this blog, I will still be a storyteller by heart. I will continue to connect in whatever way that I can. But maybe this blog is the start of something. Maybe I will find a way to connect.

All I know is I'm tired of making empty promises, tired of not sharing the many beautiful things burning on my mind that I see daily, tired of the way that I so easily forget the past. And maybe people won't see these things the same way that I do. But God has given me a gift to see these connections, and to not take them for granted. I share these stories as part of a my personal joys and treasures and I hope in some way, that these stories will bring joy to you as well.

With love,

Nick