Getting Out of the Way

With you Brian in 'get out of the way of the story so the story can tell itself.' Here's to building bridges through story which has been my passion for 30+ year as well. The most profound was as part of the Kanoon International Storytelling Festival in Iran, February 2015. I was the first American Storyteller accepted into the festival in Iran. The diplomats and scholars there called upon all of us Storytellers to build bridges of peace through Story and to serve as Unofficial Ambassadors for Peace. The final day of the festival, I noticed a man dressed in fatigues and a burgundy beret perched on his head. From halfway back in the auditorium his eyes were locked on mine. Then he was up out of his seat striding towards me where I stood on stage. I had a moment of panic, had I done something wrong? And then, he was standing below the stage looking up at me and I heard his words, "America, I loved your story, photo?" The story he referred to was one of the ripple effects of kindness. Tears streamed down my face because this was the most profound experience I had had of the power of Story to build bridges between us. May this lived experience bring you peace too.