Is My Life a Great Story?

     Ever compare your life to a great story? I have.
     By “great story,” I mean one that I don’t read; it reads me. It plunges me down the mine shaft of my soul, hands me a pickax, and demands I chisel at the dross until I uncover treasures. It reveals secrets I don’t know about myself, or something I know but feared to face.
     A great story seduces me, then abandons me on its final page, leaving me bereft. Yet its memory enables me to rise, still mourning, and re-enter life with a sturdier stance.
     A great story asks me whether I’m making a great story of MY life. Am I embracing both love and sorrow, adventure and solitude? Do I stay in the safe village, or do I sometimes venture onto the road of risk?
     When I reach my final pages, will I have forgiven myself and others for mistakes along the way?
     And even if I don’t understand all the twists and turns in the plot, will I shout a hearty “thank you”?
     That’s a great story - and a great life.