It's Time to Tell Another Story
By Linda Joy Stone
People are scared, divisive, angry. The world is no longer the way it used to be. Nothing is. The structures are collapsing. The myths are dying. We need to blame someone.
What we really need to do is tell another story.
I decided to go on a news fast on the auspicious date of 9/9/09 for 21 days until Mercury-in-retrograde went direct. I had become addicted to turning on NPR first thing in the morning, while getting ready for work, while driving and while making dinner. I love keeping my head filled with information, ideas and the news-no-news of the day. However, it was keeping me irritated and righteously angry towards the general idiocracy of these times and the contributors to it. Enough already. I figure I can be on a need-to-know basis for the time being. If something really important or newsworthy happens, someone will tell me or I’ll take a peek at “The Daily Show”. Let’s see what silence or music sounds like. I find I’m substituting news with a lot of Eastern and rhythmic drum music while driving. This seems to help stabilize my agitated mental state that appears to be chronic. Oh, my!
So, what would my new story look like? My husband is good at reminding me to reframe the negative statements that I am proficient at spewing. He laughed when I said “OK, my anxiety is really my excitement.” He has a Scorpio moon and sun with Capricorn rising, hence a very dry sense of humor. I have Scorpio sun with Cancer rising and Libra moon. Does that give me a wet sense of humor?
What if in my new story I didn’t make “them” wrong but empathized with their angst and fear over our changing world. Never mind they fear America becoming non-christian, socialist beasts rather than fearing a more realistic scenario like drought, pestilence or famine. Hey, we all fear something. Maybe the latter is just too big to contemplate. I fear a mob scene and being trampled or stoned to death for my beliefs. Oh, that was another life.
And what if in my new story I could suspend my belief systems (my BS)? What if I could pretend to be an alien from another planet (and who says I’m not?) and just observe our world with curiosity and new eyes? I’d be a benevolent alien not wanting to probe anyone except for their perspectives. Is that why I’m an acupuncturist?
How could I change my story from a cynical and negative attitude to being optimistic and awe-inspired? How might my story look if I could alter my neurotic behavior and unhealthy habits? Who the hell would I be without my righteous judgments, shame and pitiful sense of unworthiness? Hey, I’ve got narcissus square my ego.
I think it’s time to reinvent ourselves, to become universal humans and to be heart-centered caretakers of the world! Instead of marching against the system why not have a parade to celebrate the new system based on love and unity?! Woohoo!
People are scared, divisive, angry. The world is no longer the way it used to be. Nothing is. The structures are collapsing. The myths are dying. We need to blame someone.
What we really need to do is tell another story.
I decided to go on a news fast on the auspicious date of 9/9/09 for 21 days until Mercury-in-retrograde went direct. I had become addicted to turning on NPR first thing in the morning, while getting ready for work, while driving and while making dinner. I love keeping my head filled with information, ideas and the news-no-news of the day. However, it was keeping me irritated and righteously angry towards the general idiocracy of these times and the contributors to it. Enough already. I figure I can be on a need-to-know basis for the time being. If something really important or newsworthy happens, someone will tell me or I’ll take a peek at “The Daily Show”. Let’s see what silence or music sounds like. I find I’m substituting news with a lot of Eastern and rhythmic drum music while driving. This seems to help stabilize my agitated mental state that appears to be chronic. Oh, my!
So, what would my new story look like? My husband is good at reminding me to reframe the negative statements that I am proficient at spewing. He laughed when I said “OK, my anxiety is really my excitement.” He has a Scorpio moon and sun with Capricorn rising, hence a very dry sense of humor. I have Scorpio sun with Cancer rising and Libra moon. Does that give me a wet sense of humor?
What if in my new story I didn’t make “them” wrong but empathized with their angst and fear over our changing world. Never mind they fear America becoming non-christian, socialist beasts rather than fearing a more realistic scenario like drought, pestilence or famine. Hey, we all fear something. Maybe the latter is just too big to contemplate. I fear a mob scene and being trampled or stoned to death for my beliefs. Oh, that was another life.
And what if in my new story I could suspend my belief systems (my BS)? What if I could pretend to be an alien from another planet (and who says I’m not?) and just observe our world with curiosity and new eyes? I’d be a benevolent alien not wanting to probe anyone except for their perspectives. Is that why I’m an acupuncturist?
How could I change my story from a cynical and negative attitude to being optimistic and awe-inspired? How might my story look if I could alter my neurotic behavior and unhealthy habits? Who the hell would I be without my righteous judgments, shame and pitiful sense of unworthiness? Hey, I’ve got narcissus square my ego.
I think it’s time to reinvent ourselves, to become universal humans and to be heart-centered caretakers of the world! Instead of marching against the system why not have a parade to celebrate the new system based on love and unity?! Woohoo!
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