Member-only story
Lies or Truth. What Are the Stories We Tell Ourselves?
Lessons in separating fact from fiction.
Last week, a neighbor rushed up to my brother’s house, visibly shaken and on the verge of tears. Suzanne, who has lived in the neighborhood for twenty-five years, was distraught and had a story to share.
“I can’t believe it. He blocked off the trail through the meadow right at the creek. I’ve been walking that path for twenty-five years; what will I do now? Living here just won’t be the same.” Suzanne’s voice trembled with emotion.
To understand the problem, picture five friendly neighbors living off a dead-end road in the country. I live next door to my brother, and four of our houses sit on ten acres each. Suzanne lives in one of two rental houses on a sixty-acre tract of abandoned farmland and forest.
From the top of the trail, we view the sunset over the ocean and the snow-covered peaks of the Olympic Mountains beyond. For thirty years, everyone has enjoyed quiet walks through the woods and meadows, causing no harm and leaving no trace.
Recently, a new tenant, Jackson, moved into the other rental house and decided he didn’t like ‘trespassers’ walking down the trail. He put up signs and blocked the trail without the landlord’s permission, confronting and upsetting another…
