Earnestly Seeking: ...A better story

I've just finished reading Donald Miller's "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years." It took me the longest time to realize that the front cover of the book is a close-up of a bicycle wheel. It didn't occur to me what the picture was until Don talks about a bike trip he took across the country. Now it makes sense.

His book focuses on this idea of story, and not just in a fictional or theatrical sense, but in a realistic sense: How do the elements of story apply to our own life? (i.e: Character, what a character wants, conflict, and what he or she does to overcome conflict to get something).

What kind of story are we living, and how can we live a better story?

Here's an excerpt from the book posted on Don's blog if you'd like a taste of it for yourself.

It's amazing what Don does in his quest to live a better story. He challenges himself to hike the Inca Trail in Peru and works hard to get in shape for the hike; he goes on a kyaking trip; he bikes across the United States; he pursues a girl; he decides to find his dad.

Don notes in his book that creating a better story does not happen by sitting on the couch; the things he decides to do with his life are examples of that.

Don also decided to start The Mentoring Project to help kids who don't have a father. His project "seeks to respond to the American crisis of fatherlessness by inspiring and equipping faith communities to mentor fatherless youth." This focus on mentoring hopes to change the story of fatherless youth, perhaps effectively shutting down prisons, curbing youth suicide and reducing homelessness simply by giving kids a mentoring role they lack because they don't have a dad. Now that's a story I'd love to see.

So how do I live this "better story" for my own life? I think a huge part of it is just simply doing something: Volunteering, joining a good cause, helping out at church, helping a homeless person (and more than just giving him a couple dollars), and, if I'm feeling really up to a challenge, I could hike the Appalachian Trail.

Maybe I could stop feeling sorry for myself when things don't go the way I want them to; maybe I could focus on others instead of my own disappointment and failures.

I am doing a couple things this summer, actually, to try and live a better story:

I'm heading to the Nebraska Panhandle for a few weeks with some student photojournalists right after school gets out. Why the Panhandle? We're going there to document the lives and stories of migrant farmers and their families. Migrant farmers work in some of the poorest conditions and it's a very transient lifestyle, so it's tough on the family, especially the kids. Since they move around so much, the kids can have a hard time socially getting to know other kids, and academically because they don't stay in one school for very long. I'd really like to focus on the kids; I'm hoping I find some wonderful little boys and girls whom I can photograph and share their story. This trip is a way to give migrant farmers a voice, and it's a way to challenge my skills as a photojournalist.

In July I'm planning to go to India with another group of journalism students. There we will partner with students at a journalism institute in New Delhi to teach them skills and help them tell stories based on social justice issues within their community. It will be my first time flying over the ocean and I'm really looking forward to the cultural experience. I know I will see a lot of things and it will probably end up impacting me more than it will impact the students we visit there.

These are just a couple things, but they're pretty significant things which have the opportunity to really add something to my 'story.' I hope the experiences will allow me to add something to someone else's story, too. Don writes towards the end of his book that we should invite others into our story. It makes sense: How boring would a story be if I was the only character?

And now, here are some photos of places Don has been that inspire me (I hope to see these for myself someday):

INCA TRAIL : PERU