You wouldn’t think that Dwight Schrute, the eccentric, beet-farming salesman from the TV sitcom The Office, would have much influence on me. But somehow, he has.
Rainn Wilson, the actor who played him, spoke at the Chautauqua Institution this summer. He’s been on a spiritual journey and shared some of the ideas from his new book, Soul Boom, which uses humor to talk about how having a spiritual revolution might change the way we live.
His talk led me to other books and ideas about meaning and purpose, and they seem to be landing with me at just the right moment.
Maybe it’s the change of seasons. Maybe it’s that back-to-school feeling that never completely goes away. Or maybe it’s the Jewish holidays and the start of a new year.
Whatever the reason, this time of year always makes me a little more reflective, pondering what I want to bring more of into my life, what I want to do less of, and what I’ve been meaning to do but somehow haven’t started.
That last question has really stuck with me.
Just because we know something is important doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll do it.
A recent client completed his life story project with me and was so grateful for the experience. He loved the finished film, and felt a real sense of peace knowing his stories were captured for his family.
He was so excited that he started telling everyone he knew that they should do it, too. But he’s been completely baffled. Why have none of the people he’s told about it called me?
The irony is that this same client first contacted me almost two years before we actually did his project. Between health issues and other priorities, life got in the way.
So why do we wait to do things that we know matter to us?
I attended a session at a conference this summer about why we resist taking action on things we genuinely want to do, and it made me think about the hesitation I sometimes see around recording family stories.
For some people, the idea feels enormous. My whole life story? Where would I even begin?
For others, there may be stories or emotions they’re not sure they want to revisit.
Sometimes, I think there’s an unspoken feeling of, Why do this now? I’m healthy and active. There’s plenty of time.
But one of the things I’ve learned from doing this work is that the project is usually much less overwhelming than people imagine.
You answer a short questionnaire, and then we have a conversation. Later, you sit down and chat while a camera happens to be recording. Even then, you don’t have to plan out what you’ll say or remember all the details. And you definitely don’t need to tell your entire life story all at once.
The project itself can be as grand or as simple as you want it to be.
Barbara’s story is a great example. We filmed her, her husband, and the two of them together. The finished product doesn’t have a tremendous amount of editing, just space for them to tell their stories naturally.
This fall, as I think about the things I want to begin and the things I’ve been putting off, I’m trying to remind myself that I don’t have to figure out everything before I start.
I just have to take one small step.
Maybe there’s something you’ve been thinking about doing, too.
If recording your stories is one of those things, don’t start by imagining the finished film. Write down one story or memory. Have a conversation about something meaningful from your past.
You don’t have to do the whole thing today.
But maybe this is the season to begin.
