You Are NOT Your Story

Sometimes, our stories limit us.

Our stories define us as the person we believe ourselves to be, yet at the same time, they can keep us locked inside the prisons we create for ourselves.

All we truly need is to remember the possibility that the world may not be as we perceive it.

And let me share a little secret with you…

What has happened to you is not who you are. It is simply what happened to you.

You are not your story.You are not your past.Nor are you the future you imagine for yourself.

"To let go of thoughts and stories that don’t serve you, you don’t need new thoughts or new stories."Can you observe your thoughts without fear—without rushing to replace them with others?

Perhaps there is no need to seek an immediate solution.

Can you turn toward your stories, your challenging habits, everything within you—with courage?Can you simply look at them?

Each time, with patience, without rushing toward a goal—just observing as it is.

Can you bring discomfort and ease together?Can you look at your struggles with a sense of ease?

Remember!"Ease is not a destination; it is the path itself."

Our thoughts matter, of course. But we must recognize their illusory nature. We carry the weight of our stories with us every day, and they may prevent us from finding true freedom.

And if you can realize that you are not your story, then you are free to begin again—any way you choose.

Remember, as the poet once said:"Everyone has a story, but not everyone has a poem."

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

-Mary Oliver

-From Prof. Dr. Zümra Atalay’s TV program İnsan Hali.