There once was a young girl who happened upon a construction site. She approaches a man working and says curiously, “Excuse me. What are you doing?” “Can’t you see?” he says impatiently, “I’m laying bricks.” As she walks along, she sees another man doing the same thing. She approaches and says, “Excuse me. What are …Read More
Category: Storytelling
Burnout Recovery
In 2007, I was burnt out–physically exhausted, emotionally drained, and cynical about the future. The daily grind of the hospital had left me with tattered ends. Everyday seemed to be the same. There was little sense of purpose. I decided to make some changes. Vacation helped, but then I returned to the same daily grind. …Read More
Florida Storytelling Festival 2020
“You are like family,” I said to Morgen Reynolds last year at the Florida Storytelling Festival in Mt Dora, Florida. “I see you once a year for a reunion.” That sounds a little odd at first, but I was expressing the comfort of seeing someone you know after such a long time. We have listened …Read More
Hair Love ~ Animated Story
“Life is too short to have boring hair.” Storytelling is a powerful vehicle to convey emotion. Matthew A. Cherry goes beyond words with a short animated film that is virtually silent. “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart” ― Helen …Read More
Can you Exorcise Depression? ~ Andrew Solomon
“Spirits leave me alone to complete the business of my life and know that I’ll never forget you.” Andrew Solomon’s long battle with depression first brought him to traditional Western medicine with medication and counseling. As a writer, this struggle led him to research treatments in other parts of the world. He tells a colorful …Read More
Release & Renewal ~ New Year’s Retreat 2020
“Beautiful experience allowing you to dive inwards and pull up what allows us to truly grow…” ~J.V., New York About a decade ago, I had what I like to call my early early pre-pre-pre-mid-life crisis. (There have been a few others since.) Endless loops of thought. “Is this what I should be doing? Is this …Read More
Florida Storytelling Festival ~ Jan 23 – 26, 2020
“What story are you going to tell?” That simple question prodded me forward onto stage. My friend did not ask, “Are you going to tell a story?” She had heard all my stories. She believed that others should hear me too. She could not fathom why I would not just get up there. Inside, my …Read More
Livestream – National Storytelling Festival, Oct 4, 2019
One person on stage underneath a white tent telling a story. The largest of tents holding more than a thousand in the audience. Tense moments of silence shifting into roaring laughter, then moving into the depths of emotion. The National Storytelling Festival invites the top Storytellers in the country for a weekend of storytelling. Can’t …Read More
Imagine a World Without Story ~ Carmen Deedy
“It is not that we will one day not know how to tell a story, but that one day we will no longer know how to listen to a story.” ~ Carmen Deedy The places where stories get told—person to person, human to human—are disappearing. Family dinners where stories are told at the end of …Read More
Embrace the Other ~ Storyteller Jan Blake
“The most important thing that I have discovered is that as a storyteller, my role is, fundamentally, to embrace the other.” ~ Jan Blake When the magical words “Once upon a time” are uttered, our minds open to the possibilities of seeing ourselves mirrored in the story. We see our dreams captured in the hero. …Read More