“And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning
in life, and you can't go back to being normal; you can't go back to
meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted
time.”
―
Donald Miller
TinTin is a great example of a character who lives a good story. TinTin's willingness to follow a lead toward an adventure is admirable. He is a reporter whose livelihood is based on having good leads but he's also the kind of character that actually follows them. Staying in his comfort zone doesn't trump his sense of adventure. His stories take him around the world and back, usually doing something of historic proportions.
Since high school I've had the opportunity to slide down deep into a salt mine in Austria, eat homemade pasta in Italy and sleep in a 12th century palace. I found my way through Vienna's ring roads and navigated train stops on a quiet Sunday afternoon in Cortona. I took risks in asking for directions in South Korea where everyone looked different from me or engaging with college students in a large Russian city.
For me travel has been one of the ways I've stretched out of my comfort zone and it has increased my appreciation of God as creator, the interconnectedness of humanity and my own self-efficacy.
A good story the way we see it in literature isn't every single day of a person's life. We hone in on the events and characters that move the plot forward. For me, travel has been some of those events. One of the vivid memories I have from my study abroad in Austria is sitting alone on a bench in the neighborhood where I was living. The bench was off the street, secluded and overlooked a babbling brook. It was bright afternoon and I didn't need to be anywhere for a few hours. I sat there so absolutely contented that I still reflect on that time as a blessing and reminder of the importance of being present and having stillness in my days. That moment is part of my story because it's one of God's ways of beckoning me back to His presence - in the stillness and quiet of His plan and His strength that is never spiraling out of control. So to this point, I've lived a pretty good story with several factors that have moved the plot along including - growing up with sisters, moving away to college, being baptized, working in full time ministry, traveling around the world, being dumped and only being competent in individual sports (nothing with hand-eye coordination). Each of these could be scenes in the story that I've lived to this point. It just feels far from over. So when asked if I'm living a good story - Yes. Only it's not a best seller...yet.
"We live in a world where bad stories are told. Stories that teach us
life doesn’t mean anything, that humanity has no great purpose. It’s a
good calling, then, to speak a better story. How brightly a better story
shines. How easily the world looks to it in wonder.” Donald
Miller
Today I am answering the question, “What does it mean to live a good story?” along with other writers at Prodigal Magazine. I believe the answers are as broad as the stories that show us. Why don’t you share yours too?
