In pursuit of collecting stories

When I think about collecting, I automatically think about those diehard collectors. I know a few of them myself, they are quite consistent with their collections and will not stop until it is completed. It could be anything; shoes, puzzles, postage stamps, tattoos, make-up. You name it and there is probably someone in the world who collects it. I don’t see myself as a collector in this sense because it hasn’t allured me to the point where I would start my own collection.

There just hasn’t been a material product so far which has kept my attention occupied for long enough to even consider collecting it. I’m quite practical when it comes to these things because I just don’t see the point of completing a collection except for feeling a brief moment of euphoria. I do see the point of collecting when you are able to add value to it and make something more out of it. Collecting for the sake of collecting is just not for me.

That’s why I’m in pursuit of collecting stories.

And how do I go about that exactly? Simple, through exploration. Exploration in the form of reading, conversation, travel, self-reflection and mindfulness.

By reading books you enter a world full of knowledge, opinions, experiences, history, imagination, and expertise.

You begin to see hidden messages some authors try to send out through their written words. You begin to see that opinions have more effect when based on proven knowledge and that history teaches us that there’s more than one truth or one side to a story. And not just two, but countless of voices; from loud ones bellowed by those in charge to soft whispers uttered by those who aren’t allowed to have a voice at that time. It’s up to you to unravel these voices and to find the middle ground because we will never find out exactly what happened in the past. Through fiction you find out that imagination doesn’t have a limit and that each of us is born with the gift to create. Yes, we are born that way; creative and imaginative. It just depends on how well we maintain our creativity.

By conversation, you get in touch with people. Each of us has a different story to tell and a different view towards the world to share, which means we can learn from each other by exchanging our words.

It is similar when it comes to traveling. Traveling helps us to broaden our horizon and to experience a sense of wonder, around ourselves and the world we live in. It’s through this sense of wonder that we begin to question everything around us, including ourselves. In other words; self-reflection.

Through self-reflection we explore stories about ourselves. The stories which have shaped us into the person we are today.

We also explore the reasons behind our behavior and emotions and that anything, no matter how small or insignificant, has intertwined with us. And so, we become more mindful of our behavior in order to carry out more positive actions. Therefore it’s also important to be mindful of others.

Mindfulness allows us to view things as they truly are, nothing more and nothing less. We allow ourselves to experience life without distractions or negative thoughts. And by doing so we are able to see things which seemed so simple at first by having a greater appreciation for them from that point on.

I’m in pursuit of collecting stories so that I may share them with others by writing about them.

And I have a pretty good feeling that I’m on the right track. The fun thing about collecting stories is that my collection will never be completed and the best part is that, once I start to share them, it’s no longer just my collection. Like this post of mine.

From the girl who rambles through life