“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.”
― Brené Brown
Haley and I have been hosting story circles at various homeless shelters around Omaha for a year now. We’ve gathered around tables and in small circles at Open Door Mission, Siena/Francis House, Stephen Center, and Lydia House. Most recently, we hopped over to Council Bluffs and had circles at MICAH house. It is always an incredibly humbling and eye-opening experience. We learn so much about resilience, about the ways our society lets people down and about how people build and find community in every place they land. We would learn none of those lessons and have no real insights if it weren’t for the vulnerability people demonstrate when they come to story circles. They come to story circles and talk about abuses suffered, letdowns and triumphs. They open up about losses and ways they rebuild. The courage they show in lending their voices to this project is incredible. All we can really do is thank them and make sure our play does justice to all they’ve shared with us.
