A number of years ago, I was introduced to a process called Appreciative Inquiry (Ai). This process focuses on viewing life's situation from a different perspective; to see abundance rather than scarcity, possibilities rather than problems

It encourages us through dialogue to

• remember the best of what was,
• remembering the best of what was, vision the best of what could be and
• bring that vision into the present and
• take the best steps to make that vision happen.

 

More about Ai

My story telling began when I decided to test out the appreciative approach. I sat with a young man and asked him if I could interview him and try out the Ai principles. I learnt more about the essence of this person in an hour of dialogue than I had ever discerned in all the years I had known him. This is the story I wrote...

                                         A Hero's Quest

Once upon a time, many years ago, in the land of Choice not Chance, there lived a delightful youngster, truly blessed with fine mind and pure heart. In the early years this young boy was a delight to all who knew him and it was easy for him to remember why he was here. He could bring light and warmth to the hearts of anyone. Even total strangers were drawn into his field of charm. Somewhere in the depths of his being, this old soul in human form, knew that this gift of charm held great power… a power that when wisely used, could change the unchangeable.

As a young lad, his imagination was sparked by Superman, a hero greater than life itself, who could not and would not be contained by the confines of a telephone booth…ever. He was born to fly, to use his power for right and justice, to in fact make possible the impossible. His sense of timing was masterful. And the world acknowledged his greatness… for his ‘just in time' escapades that always saved the day.

But who can understand Superman? The world of Clark Kent hardly inspires, when he remains bounded by the four walls of a telephone booth. So the essence of this little boy's dream began to erode and became ever more distant. He started to forget why he was here. Sometimes he would remember but as the years went by…no one understood or cared to understand what the boy/man knew in the core of his being. He stood alone in a world that made no sense. Where was right? Where was justice? It did not exist and Superman was gone, long since forgotten, his power destroyed by men who forgot their boyhood heroes and lived in a world of cowardice and despair and sad women who settled for Clark Kent . The consensus of silence decreed that no one would come and save the day.

This caused great pain and agony for this young man. The pain and agony turned to anger. Don't they realize that I can make a difference? Why won't they listen? Will someone please listen…Superman is not dead. Please he is not dead. And so he struck out on his hero's quest to find Superman and bring him back to earth. How can we go on if there is no Superman? To be faster than a speeding bullet… and the young man became a speeding bullet, moving at kamikaze speed to feel as if he were feeling what he knew he should be able to feel if only the world could hear what he had to say. When he connected with others, which was rare, he was buoyed by their appreciation and enthusiasm for his ideas and his dreams, and he soared like a bird and felt like Superman.

And the hero's quest took him into the maze of worlds unknown and alien, the elixir of life for Superman, the refuse of a toxic wasteland for the questing hero. But take heart dear reader… Superman is not dead nor is our questing hero. The impossible will be possible and that which is unchangeable will be changed. For the boy/man came to realize that the power was always within him to focus his eyes and bring the broken pieces together once more.

Life through aWide-Angle Lens

When we can only see our own story up close, we lack perspective. We can't see where we've come from or where we might be going. Observing the lives of those who are famous is very instructional for it gives us a chance to view their lifetime through a wide-angle lens.

And what we see is that what seemed like a gifted life, with many bright spots and high points, is realistically a life framed by all the challenges that a life fully lived can bring. One sees, through the lives of others, that in the lows we are groomed for the thrill of the highs and, having been thus enticed, are seductively lured to take the ride back down, a ride that can often take our breath away.

Everything and everybody experiences the ride. It is our railing against the flow of the ride that makes the flow not flow, creates fear, and slows down what could be a very exciting and rewarding experience.

In truth, hitting bottom is the good news, for bottom gives us something to push up from, an energy to come back. The folks that are in real trouble are the ones who never hit bottom. No acceptance of what's happened, no energy to move forward, just a belief that once again they have tricked destiny. The lives of the great ones would tell us that this, above all else, is illusion.

Do something comforting and rewarding - write your own story. Stand back a bit, take a wide-angle view of you life…the different perspective might surprise you.

To write your own story.

"Storytelling is an excellent way of caring for the soul. It helps us to see the themes that circle our lives, the deep themes that tell the myths we live."