How often do you take the time to clearly share with others how much they mean to you?
Do you regularly share when they have made an impact on your life?
How would it feel to receive a written account of how you made an impact on another person?
Wouldn’t that be a priceless gift?
Well, January is not only the beginning of the year, but also my birthday month and in this post, I’ll be sharing all of the ways you can honor others with the gift of story.
Here are five ideas to start with:
Write a story of a special moment, you both shared.
Include details of the moment or event to bring it back to life, then be sure to share what that meant to you. Why was it so important?
Share a story of a lesson you learned from this person.
What was the lesson? How was it passed along? Was it clearly stated or something you observed? How did you take that lesson into your own life? What growth and goodness came from it? Have you passed this lesson along to others?
Write about a characteristic of theirs that you treasure.
What better way to show someone you know them, then speaking to one of their own characteristics and why you appreciate it. What is the characteristic that clearly comes to mind when you think of this person? What are some examples of when this characteristic was demonstrated to you? Why is it so important to you and to others that know them, and to the world? What has this taught you about yourself?
Share your version of the “how we met” story.
Share your side and be sure to add descriptors and specific details, answering who, what, where, when, and why. Use adjectives and adverbs to bring the story back to life and your reader, back in time.
Write out an acrostic poem.
Do you want to keep it simple and visual? Write the letters of the name of your subject down the left side of a paper and use these as prompts to describe, honor, or even roast your birthday story subject. You can even look to previous ideas above for what to write for each letter.
Whichever of these you choose, take the time to ground and connect to your story subject and let your appreciation and love for them sync in before writing.
Write from your heart.
Keep sight of the purpose, write in your own voice, and enjoy the process.
This can be as simple or as complex as you’d like.
You are the author!
Remember, you are giving one of the greatest gifts a person can give - the gift of acknowledgment, appreciation, being seen, and love.
Want help making those story gifts even stronger?
Check out my book Bridging Your Past and Future: The Top 10 Items to Include When Documenting Your Personal History. In it I share writing tips that will bring your writing to life and your reader back in time!