Today I met a first grade teacher who shared a story from yesterday's class. She was teaching them about the personal narrative. She explained to them, " It is a real story about you. It has a beginning, a middle and an end." She asked them to draw a picture of a true story. They did and she noticed a boy drawing pictures of a Ninja Turtle. "Who is this? I like Ninja Turtles a lot but this is suppose to be a true story - not a made up one." The kid responded, "But it is true." The boy paused and said "By the grace of God, I became a Ninja Turtle for a day...and this is my adventure." What could she say about reality? We all have to figure out what is real... for us.
This child was using his understanding of religion, (to which he obviously been exposed) and the world of animated heroic adventures. He was making his stories real for him and he will live by those stories until they stop working or he dies. I have come to understand that my old stories no longer serve me and that I have to create new stories that are a better fit for me – now. The old techie entrepreneurial stories ones stopped working and the chaplaincy story emerged and grew robust branches. Things change; we change; it all changes. We need new stories of adventures that are real for us ... right now. Blessings on the new Ninjas in our lives.
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