The Power of Story: Sara from On Simplicity on The Dot

Today's Guest Blogger is Sara. Sara blogs at On Simplicity, a fantastic blog that focuses on keeping your life about what matters...and how best to accomplish that. I love that a children's book impacted her and I hope you enjoy reading her story. Thanks for sharing your story, Sara!


"Just make a mark and see where it takes you." That's the essence of The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. It's the short, simple story of Vashti, a girl who is certain that she is terrible at art. When her teacher encourages her to make a mark on her paper, any mark, she makes a single dot. Once her teacher asks her to sign her paper, her creativity takes hold. From one tiny, frustrated dot emerges a gallery of dots, both beautiful and imperfect, as Vashti learns that creativity is limited only by ourselves and our imaginations.

The first time I read The Dot, my pulse quickened. This was no generic children's story—this was a call to arms for imagination. The thought stuck in my brain and rattled around for days. If all great works of art start with a single dot, what was I waiting for?

So I began to write. The first words weren't perfect, not by a mile. Like Vashti staring at her dot, I thought, "I can do better." So I wrote more. And more. And I let the world see my writing. It wasn't long before the words were flowing out of me and I was enjoying the creative process. The Dot truly pushed me toward that first, scary step into creativity.

The Dot is also about owning your creativity. The signature on each work of art, whether that piece is a single dot or a squiggle, is the moment when each person claims their art, and proudly proclaims, "I am an artist." It's one thing to create, it's another to claim our work and be willing to learn from it.

Perhaps someday I'll move out of the children's section. Perhaps not. But The Dot will always remain the book that changed my life, since it's the book that taught me how to be creative once more.

(If you want to share about how a story changed your life, email me at mypalamyATgmailDOTcom and we'll talk!)

The Power of Story: Unspoken by Angela Hunt

I love story. I love it's ability to transport us out of our skin, to help us understand other people better, to tear down the barriers inside our own minds and hearts, and help us glimpse another life through other eyes. To celebrate that, I am launching a series of posts to celebrate the stories that have changed us. This is the inaugaral post in the series about a book that changed my perspective.

I have always loved animals. I've had dogs growing up that I loved and always enjoyed going to the zoo. But I never realized how amazingly intelligent animals are, how much they deserve our respect, and how they are fantastic representations of the creative mind of the God I love.

Unspoken is a fictional account of a woman training a very special gorilla to acclimate with other gorillas after spending many years on her own.

When I read Unspoken, I was amazed. I had no idea just how smart animals are, their highly developed social systems, and gorillas! I had no idea just how much we could communicate with gorillas given the proper training. Phenomenal. My response, of course, was to tell everyone about how cool it was. And to recommend the book. Most people seemed indifferent to this wonderful new knowledge and insight I had attained, but it has truthfully made me more aware and sensitive to the way all things in this earth need to be balanced. We can't afford not to care about animals. I believe God created the world (and this isn't about creationism or evolution--whatever the answer I believe God is behind it) with incredible balance. Our hunt for natural resources, our hunger for seafood...all of these things have thrown the earth out of balance as we kill animals to achieve our goals. Gorillas are endangered. Only 700 survive in the wild. A lot of them live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. If you read Texas in Africa's blog, you know just how messed up that area is. The war that kills people is killing these animals as well. You can read more about gorilla's precarious position here.

Anyway, I no longer think people concerned about animal rights are fruitcakes, I think they are doing a very wonderful wonderful wonderful job. :) So thank you Angela Hunt for writing such a great book that stole my heart while also making me more aware of the world around me.

(Have you ever had a story change your life? It doesn't have to be a book! A film, tv show, or other form of storytelling is welcome! If so, please write me at mypalamyATgmailDOTcom if you are interested in sharing your story here as a part of this series! Let's celebrate the power of story!)