Telling a story about a thought, feeling, or experience has the effect of taking something in motion and freezing it in a moment.
If it’s a thought or feeling, by the time we have created a story about it, one of two possible risks are already in motion: either the thought or feeling has passed and our story is the equivalent of grabbing something that has gone by and dragging it back toward us; or we create a little museum for the thought or feeling, so that, even after it has departed, we have a way to remember it as though it is still present.
If it is an experience, the story we create also anchors what has passed in the present.
By creating a story about a thought, feeling, or experience, we create a portable anchor for something that no longer exists, except in our memory.
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