Writing the Moments

"These are the quicksilver moments of my childhood I cannot recapture entirely. Irresistible and emblematic, I can recall them only in fragments and shivers of the heart. There is a river, the town, my grandfather steering a boat through the channel, my sister fixed in that suspended rapture she would later translate into her strongest poems, the metallic perfume of harvested oysters, the belling voices of children on the shore . . . When the white porpoise comes there is all this and transfiguration too.
                                                  - Pat Conroy from The Prince of Tides

Human beings first shared experiences in the form of stories told after the hunt. They conjured tales around the fire and divided the meat among the group.

Storytelling helps us makes sense out of our lives.  Certain events and themes figure prominently in every life story.  We are complex beings composed of rich lives: sounds, sights, smells, tastes, textures and memories.

Listens to the voices.  Hear your parents, siblings, children, friends, enemies, teachers and heroes acting out their dramas on your life slate.

Sensing the voices in yourself will remind you of your relationship in the web of life.

Your people inhabit you. They will help you celebrate your myths, sing songs, and tell you legends.  They may help you through life's struggles.


Creative Write:  List a quicksilver moment, a fragment of time, a shiver of the heart.

Add voices of friends and family.

Combine them with a familiar place that made everything right. Bring in all the senses.