Valerie Drew / Narratives and noticing…

Did I manage to stay silent for 36 hours?  I’ll leave that to your imagination… although I did exceed my own expectations, not an impossible task I suppose when you spend 12 hours alone and have two nights sleep in the period of 36 hours!  I was intrigued how many of the group did not seem to welcome the return to speaking…  as you all know I believe it is almost rude not to talk incessantly in company.  However silence certainly heightens the intensity of your senses and appears to focus your thoughts on the environment.  I will try to bring more silences into my life…

The day after the solo was a day of story-telling in the tipi by the long beach.   An opportunity to talk, to recount ‘your story’ of the solo.  I found this a strange experience – intimate, funny, emotional at times and fascinating too.  All the participants had spent the day in a relatively small area of Knoydart and so there were a number of recurring themes – amazing sights, the cold, noisy Land Rovers and the irritations of insect life- however the personal insights, perceptions and reflections of the experience and the surrounding environment provided a rich tapestry of threads to unpick…

The opportunity to provide feedback was welcomed but this was only a chance to reflect back what you heard in the story- no insights, judgments or suggestions- just an opportunity to tell what you heard.  On a personal level I welcomed this non-judgmental feedback – I found these comments on my narrative both insightful and useful.   ‘A woman who knows how to tell her story’ , ‘a woman who knows her story’ and ‘a woman who sets high expectations and is disappointed by less…’.   My tendency to ‘see things as they are’ to ‘juxtaposition good and the other’ were all noted by my fellow participants… I think many of you who know me might agree…