on the stories of others

The post linked below is worth your time to read. It is two posts, actually, one embedded in another. They're about writing about Haiti. How much can one say? understand? When does the listening help to heal? When does it become better to listen and not tell? When must the story be told - and how must it be told when it is not yours? These writers find their own lives entwined with these stories, and yet they must always be separating the threads of their own lives, their own perspectives and biases, their own pain, from that of others whose story needs to be shared. When do we choose, and how?

So now I'm wondering what will it be like for me to try to blog from Haiti again. Will I want to make my entries completely separate - my story and the stories around me? I can't see how that is possible. I can only tell a story through my own eyes. But then, I have it easy: I'm not a journalist. I'm not a semi-professional blogger. I can only share what I live or what I have heard - and much of what I hear there will not be mine to share. So much pain. As this blogger points out, there is a responsibility that comes with writing, especially stories such as these. I will need to pray for the grace to respond wisely.

I am grateful for this blog entry, and I hope you will find it thought-provoking as well. Here it is: http://livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/2011/07/telling-stories.html