People love stories. Stories are like bridges that connect people. We delight in stories that inspire us or make us laugh, or say, “Ahhhh.” Often these stories can draw us into a world that is familiar, though still surprising and altogether new. Sometimes a story comes from a world that is not at all like what we know. Some stories are hard to tell. And some are hard to hear. They can be painful and dark. People don’t like to tell them. People don’t like to hear them. If stories are bridges of connection, listening to a hard story might be the only way to build and cross a bridge of empathy. Stay with the teller. Listen with love. It probably won’t end in a happily-ever-after, but it might reassure someone that, “You are not alone.” What story do you want to tell? Are you willing to hear them from others?

By Christian Morris, OSB