Be Mindful

One of the things I love about art is that it meets you where you’re at. Something you’ve experienced before can become brand new and take on new meaning. As you change, so does your experience.

All of this to say, I’ve had a lyric by Stephen Sondheim stuck in my head the last several days —“Careful the tale you tell. That is the spell.”

My fellow theater nerds will know this line well from “Into the Woods.” It’s a lyric that many of us have heard a thousand times over. Something about this particular moment or delivery made it land in a way it hasn’t before.

We often think of stories as something concrete. They live on pages, screens, or in our shared retellings, and sometimes that’s the case. However, we all tell ourselves a million stories every day. They shape the way we see ourselves and others.

There is power in words, and that includes the words we hold in our hearts and minds.

Every single one of our successes or limitations starts as a story. Some, we’re told by others and add our own spin. Others seem to be etched in our souls. They can get bogged down by periphery tales but are always there, aching to be brought into the light.

In other words, be mindful of the stories you tell yourself. They may not all be true.

Be Kind. Be Brave. Stay Awkward. Take care of yourself and your stories.