Naming our Narrative
When I first stumbled upon these words they stopped me short. I was taken aback by just how true they are. We have a need to name: our children, our homes, our favourite food…our emotions and internal world. This quote from Ronald Rolheiser sparked a pondering in me; how often do I name my experiences for myself, independent of other people’s labels or expectations? How often do I stick with a feeling or an emotion long enough that I can gather a sense of its character, its texture, its colour – let alone giving it a name. Yet in our culture names really do matter. Names stick. Everyone knows how an unkind nickname from childhood can linger long past the time anyone has thought to use it. We use names as a way of identifying each other; so when someone calls your name, your head turns without you thinking about it. So what happens when we don’t name what’s going on for us internally…what happens if we allow other people to christen it without our …
