The Grasshopper asked this yesterday: “Who are you without your story?“ It’s not the first time I’ve been asked that question but it’s worth my reflection again.

We all have a story – one we’ve told thousands of times. One purpose of the story, best as I can tell, is to not make us responsible for our current lot in life.

“I’m the daughter of left-handed, abusive clowns” you may say. That’s to absolve you of any responsibility for where you are. Your story may also be used to justify a counter-productive behavior. “If you had the kind of day I had, you would be drowning your sorrows too.”

Those are some of the reasons we keep telling our story but the question remains: “Who are we without our story?”

A story has a beginning, a middle and an end – just like our human existence. Who you are without your story is the animating force of creation that has no beginning, no middle or no end. The animating force keeps on ticking long after we and our story have been forgotten.

You, without your story, are the infuser, not the infused. Your story imposes limits; without it, you know no boundaries.

Freeing yourself from your story is the freedom we all seek. When we realize this freedom, we are not corralled by our circumstances, just creatively responsive to them.

Continuing to tell our story imposes the limits we seek to escape. The road to freedom begins with retiring our story and all the labels we’ve affixed to ourselves. Labels are mini-stories that keep us stuck.

You, without your story, are the creative force that animates everything. It’s a discovery we all desire to make but most of us are unwilling to pay the price. The price for this priceless gift is to leave our story behind.

“Who are you without your story?” Finding out is one less story away.

All the best,

John