This month is National Storytelling Week in the UK. So what better excuse is there to sit down and think about not only the stories I’ve heard, the stories I’ve lived and the stories that formed the world I grew up in…but also the importance of storytelling as a form of communication. As a method of Wanderlust.
By Alexandra
My experience with storytelling and communicating life experiences has led me to understand it as an integral part of being a human. It’s how we communicate, it’s how we connect, it’s how we understand the world and how we build it too. To share your experiences with someone is to show them how you came to be who you are today, it is an act of trust. To have someone tell you their life experiences is to have a window into their world, to understand them past the perception they offer at the surface. Storytelling and communicating life experiences leads to understanding, it breaks down those barriers so often put in place which lead us to have prejudices and inaccurate perceptions. Storytelling and traveling; the two best educators. So, here’s everything I know about storytelling, and why I feel that it’s so important to embrace communicating life experiences when you travel.
We are all a collection of short stories, set under the title of Life Experience and read by many, but understood by few. Travel allows us to find new stories, both in people and places; to travel is to attempt to understand the world from different perspectives by placing our own to the side and being open to an alternative. It gives us an amazing opportunity to sit outside of ourselves and the world we know, to connect to others who often have little in common with us. Or so we may think at first.
Communicating life experiences is not just important in close relationships, when you speak to someone you’ve never met before - even if it’s just for a few minutes - you have the amazing opportunity to learn about a different way of living. A different way of seeing the world. And sometimes, it just might change your life. The most amazing stories I’ve heard have more often than not been told by complete strangers who I have never seen again; and the stories have always surprised me in relation to what I expected them to be. And every single time it makes me re-evaluate the way I see the world; it makes me flag any prejudices I often didn’t know I had and to re-evaluate the way I live my own life in relation to the many options out there.
Storytelling is the ability to make our experiences into tales which are engaging and teach others something about themselves. The ‘ah-hah’ moment. Yes you know it, that moment when someone said something and it wasn’t even all that serious or deep but something switched in your head and...click. Breakthrough. People will surprise you, places will invite you to rethink life and how you view yourself. That is the gift and sometimes the curse of storytelling.
To listen to other people’s experiences is to realize that no one is better, no one is worse…we’re just all very different, and that realization is the true beauty of connection and communication.
When you travel, as well as listening to other people’s stories and learning about the stories of places; it’s important to align with your own story. Other people’s stories and life experiences are there to teach us about what is out there. If we didn’t listen to stories we’d never know about everything there is to be experienced, because we will never strive for anything more than what we already know to exist. Through sharing our stories and communicating our life experiences we can find out what’s actually meant for us - we can try new ways of life, and find people along that road who will offer us new paths to explore. Stories are opportunities to learn, opportunities to figure out what authentically resonates and what doesn’t, opportunities to discover new places both inside and outside of ourselves.
3 Tips For Communicating Life Experiences
Set boundaries: Before you get into a conversation with someone decide how much you feel comfortable sharing, how much is safe to share, how much would you feel safe with someone else sharing with you if the situation was reversed?
Listen, don’t just talk: You’ll find out more about yourself and have a more enjoyable experience if you listen rather than just talking or thinking about your turn to talk.
Be present: Stay in touch with yourself while you’re telling your story or listening to someone else’s. How you feel says a lot about the person and the story, and your connection to them. You should never feel anxious or afraid or exhausted, you should feel curious and engaged and peaceful.
About Alexandra
Alexandra is the founder of SOLEMNIKO, a space which prioritizes authenticity and enables healing through creativity. In 2020 she set up the How We Came To Be Project; a platform that has worked with individuals, NGO’s and charities from across the globe focusing on highlighting stigmas and offering a safe space for people to tell their story free of abuse or fear of identification. You can find her on Instagram @solemniko and www.solemniko.com. She believes that storytelling, incurable Wanderlust and sharing life experiences without prejudice are the way to understand ourselves and others.
