A story I frequently tell to others when looking for a conversation topic is a trip to Alaska I took with my father during my freshman year of high school. I often split up the trip into multiple stories, as one cohesive story about the trip would be too long. The story I tell the most is about deep sea fishing off the coast of Alaska. As I sat on the deck of our fishing boat, I felt a certain feeling within myself that I have scarcely felt in my life. This true feeling of tranquility, a near nirvana. Surrounding me is the deep, blue ocean, far more vibrant than even the my home of Hawaii’s ocean. Far in the distance, I saw the Alaskan mountains piercing the skies. It was cold, yet the chill in the air added to the comfort. The boat was surprisingly silent despite the other twelve people there with us. I tell the story of the Alaskan fishing trip mostly to capture a moment in time. I include rich imagery to convey to my listener the strength of the tranquility I felt in that moment. The fishing trip, in the grand scheme of life was a miniscule moment. Yet, the calmness I felt continues to guide my life, as I try to maintain even a fraction of the tranquility I experienced there.
Prof L
Luke, in a way this story is the answer to an implied question, one of the kind of storytelling prompts that appear in the book: “What was a moment when you felt at peace?”
One thing I like about this is that the story turns out to be on the “outside”: the fishing story leads to a particular moment, and then your propose that moment as a guide for the future, for the continuation of your (life) story….