We’ve received a good number of ‘Out of Office’ auto returns to our emails recently, and you probably have received some from us. And what a welcomed occurrence! Nothing says summer like vacation, and nothing says vacation like summer.

I’ve never been one to stay put for too long. My mom, dad, sister and I moved around quite a bit. Twenty residences, seven states, two countries. My father met his southern belle at the Officer’s club while he was stationed at the Charleston, SC naval base. Beauty and the Bull got married, had two children. You’ve heard this story before.

Storytelling is a vital component in understanding the world around us. I have always used storytelling as both a vehicle for exploration and expression.

The saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” is well known and certainly has withstood the test of time. There are a few notable origin stories about the saying. Leonardo da Vinci allegedly stated that “a poet would be overcome by sleep and hunger before being able to describe with words what a painter is able to depict in an instant.”

One of my favorite things about a story, and art in general, is its ability to unify people. Here’s what I mean. When we experience a story, we come to it from different places – sometimes vastly different places. We have different backgrounds, different experiences, different perspectives, and perhaps even different values.