Telling the Story
Summary: Telling the Story
Speak the truth.
Start with the facts.
Tell your story first to a friend, loved one, or trusted person.
Consider telling the story to the person who harmed you, or writing a letter.
Accept that whatever has happened cannot be changed or undone.
Meditation
To whom shall I tell my story?
Who will hear my truth
Who can open the space that my words want to fill
Who will hold open the space for the words that tumble out
in fast cutting shards
And the words that stumble hesitantly into the world
unsure of their welcome
Can you hold that space open for me?
Can you keep your questions and suggestions and judgments at bay
Can you wait with me for the truths that stay hidden behind my sadness, my fear, my forgetting, and my pain
Can you just hold open a space for me to tell my story
Stone Ritual: Whispering to the Stone
1. It is time to actually give voice to what happened. There is power in words that are spoken.
2. Pick up your stone and tell the story of what happened in as much detail as you can. Remember to speak the truth, as much of it as you can remember. Speaking to the stone can be an emotionally safe way to prepare for speaking your story to another person.
Journal Exercise
1. Open your journal and write your story. Fill as many pages as you need.
2. Writing is a very powerful way to tell your story. As you write, you may remember details you did not recall when you were speaking.
3. If you feel safer or more comfortable, you can always read what you have written to a person you love and trust.
4. Later you may choose to read or send what you have written to the perpetrator, but we encourage you to first continue along the Fourfold Path. The story is only the beginning.
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As we continue in our book study, we encourage you to purchase Desmond and Mpho Tutu's The Book of Forgiving which is available as a hard copy, audiobook, and ebook. All of the above comes directly from the end of each chapter. If your finances are preventing you from purchasing the book, please reach out to Pastor Sarah.
Tutu, Mpho, and Tutu, Desmond. The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World. United States, HarperCollins, 2014.