Developing Compassion by Honoring Stories
Event details
June 18, 2024, 6:00-7:30 pm
Lucky Lab Brew Pub - Community Room
Event description
Stories are a bridge to compassion. We each have the opportunity to invite sharing of story into our daily lives, including at work. When we are exhausted, scared or angry, we may find it harder to be open to story. Yet when we engage in storytelling as both teller and listener, we know for certain we have connected with our heart, and often the hearts of others.
This session will offer us the opportunity to be in community to both write and share times when stories helped us find compassion. As Beth Lowan of the Schwartz Center reminds us: “Everybody has a story.” Being in touch with our own stories and those of others elevates our human experience, fosters compassion and sometimes gives us a renewed sense of understanding and purpose.
Facilitators
Dede Montgomery has journaled since she was a child. In the past decade, processing and writing story has enhanced Dede’s own well-being, and become an important creative outlet. Dede is the author of four books, including memoirs following the death of both her parents. Dede’s newest book, From First Breath to Last: A Story About Love, Womanhood and Aging, 2024, Bedazzled Ink, was published this spring. In this memoir she weaves her writing with that of her mother’s unpublished memoir, previously published book and dissertation. Writing this most recent work has helped Dede process sadness, grief and joy, and better understand how her mom’s stories connected to her life and legacy. Dede works at the intersection of workplace safety, health and well-being. Learn more about her at https://dedemontgomery.com.