We all have them. At least one. Often several built over a lifetime. They are all around us. Some more obvious than others. The homeless man talking to you while you wait to meet a friend. He just got out of prison and is struggling to find his place in the world of the free. His current 2nd Story started when he went to prison all those years ago and is in full view today as he tries to live his 2nd Story, post-incarceration. It isn’t pretty, but it is his own. And he owns his 2nd Story with more grace and dignity than I could have imagined.
Other 2nd Stories might not be so obvious. The guy you see on the metro, or walking into a meeting, is living his 2nd Story. Who knows, maybe he got a second chance at life after losing the first one. (Perhaps literally, others more figuratively). His 2nd Story may not be obvious to those walking past him in their rush to make the train or their next meeting. But his 2nd Story could be as big a change as the prisoner’s.
In ways great and small, we all have 2nd Stories. Something that came after. Like divorce, post-divorce, and starting anew. Anyone overcoming a hardship to start their 2nd Story. Some of us start our 2nd Stories without any fanfare or notice; maybe we do not even notice ourselves until after the transformation is complete. But transform is what many of our 2nd Stories do to us and others.
Many of these 2nd Stories should be noticed. They can inspire and inform. Learn from them. They might make your next 2nd Story better, smoother, more rewarding.
The world itself is undergoing its 2nd Story. All of us, individually and collectively. There is no denying the world has changed permanently in response to Covid-19. The lives we led just a few months ago is gone. Perhaps forever. How we replace it will be a collective 2nd Story. How we change (for better or worse) will write billions of 2nd Stories. What will they look like?
