I think James Joyce coined the term “In the particular is contained the universal.” This rings true in many contexts, but I find it to be particularly on point when it comes to personal storytelling.
In storytelling, you’ll almost always fail to touch someone’s heart using broad strokes of cliche. While we can all relate to what it means to love someone, the only way to get there is through the particular joys and pains of ones very specific relationship.
I remember one of our campfire sessions at the Prodigy Camp, where we ask participants to share the hardest thing they’ve ever dealt with. People choose to share everything from escaping gang membership to coming out to their parents and much much more. This time, a 15 year-old shared how the hardest thing he had ever dealt with was when his pet rat died… A few campers giggled.
He then went on to tell his particular story in beautiful, tragic detail of how he came home to find the rat missing, spent 3 days searching the house (tormented over whether or not he wanted to be the one to find it), and eventually discovered the body of his deceased little friend. He told it with such specificity and genuine emotion, that by the time he was done, half the circle was in tears. They hadn’t lost a pet rat like that, but the committed way he shared the experience resonated with the others on a deep level. They had experienced loss of a loved one or at least deeply feared it.
We can be on opposite sides of the political spectrum, come from completely different backgrounds, beliefs, cultures or life experiences…. but the more we hone in on our own personal truths with courage and vulnerability, the sharper we cut though to deeply resonating universal themes that have the power to unite.
Want more connection and empathy in the world? Start with a deep dive into your particular story and challenge others to do the same.
