We all have a story. Every single one of us. And none of them are too much, too little, or too late to matter.
I was thinking about our stories the other day. Not the highlight reel versions we share on social media, but the real ones. The parts we highlight and the parts we hide.
I have a friend who thinks her story disqualifies her from helping others going through something she has lived experience in. She feels like she can't speak up because she has done the very thing she'd be telling them not to do. I argue she has the most authority to speak up of anyone in the room. Who better to speak into someone's situation than a person who has actually lived it, made the mistakes, and come out the other side?
I have other friends who think their story is too messy. And others who think theirs is too boring. Too ordinary. Not dramatic enough to matter.
And yet all of our stories and all of our experiences matter.
The story you're hiding might be the one someone needs
Here's what I have come to believe: your story will not help every person. But it will help at least one. And that one person is reason enough to tell it.
I think that is why I have come to actually enjoy sharing mine. Not because it makes me look great, but because it makes someone feel a little less alone and a little more normal. Because when we share the real, unglamorous, honest parts of our lives, we give other people permission to do the same.
The messy parts are not a liability. They are the most relatable parts of you.
Too messy, too boring, too late
If you have ever told yourself your story is too messy to share, I want to gently push back on that. Mess is where connection lives. Nobody relates to perfection. We relate to struggle, to honesty, to someone who has been where we are and found their way through.
If you have ever told yourself your story is too boring, I want you to know that ordinary moments told with honesty are anything but boring. The people who need your story are not looking for drama. They are looking for someone who gets it.
And if you have ever told yourself it is too late, that you have waited too long or that the moment has passed, I want to remind you that the right person will find your story at exactly the right time. That is the thing about sharing honestly, it has a shelf life of forever.
Why I share mine
Morro & Co was never just about candles and fragrance. It was born from a season of loss and grief and the deep desire to be a voice of hope for people who were in the middle of something hard. I share my story because I know what it feels like to need someone to say, me too. You are not alone. This is not the end.
That is what I want Morro & Co to be for the people who find us. Not just a beautiful product for their space, but a small, tangible reminder that they are seen.
The art of knowing what to share
It hasn't always been easy to share my story, especially when it affects people I love or who were close to my family. It's delicate and complicated.
Take my nanna as an example. She has lost three children to suicide, and sometimes it's too hard for her to hear my story from my perspective. So I limit what she hears from me. There is an art to knowing what to share, with who, and at what time. And honestly, I am still learning it.
A big part of my story is my faith. I have been a Christian since I was nine years old, and for me it was the one thing that kept me here and kept me safe from making even more questionable decisions than I already have. And while it means everything to me, it's hard to know how to share that part of my life. I worry about what people will think of me, and of my business. I'm just like everyone else in that way.
But that doesn't mean I have to hide it.
As with all stories, you have to learn what to share, with who, and at what time. That discernment doesn't mean you're being inauthentic. It means you're being wise. It takes courage to share and be open, but I promise you it is always worth it.
We all have a story
Every single one of us. And none of them are too much, too little, or too late to matter.
Claire x