FIKA: "The Importance of Stories" by Erin McCaw

Since the dawn of humanity stories have been a crucial part of life for the development of our brains, our imaginations, and our spirits. From the time that our ancestors painted drawings of events on cave walls, danced out hopes for successful hunts, recounted familial lines, tried to explain dreams, discoveries, and rules of conduct, humans have been communicating with each other to teach, to create connection, to pray, to entertain, and to express themselves, their culture, and communities.

The act of expressing oneself is a key part of growth and of both individuation and connection with others. For the CF and spoonie community, the act of storytelling can be very important for mental health. As people who are often very isolated and who have to deal with a medical system and society that either dismisses or completely ignore our needs and viewpoints, having somewhere to safely voice our experiences can be crucial to maintaining or even regaining a sense of self and belonging. Speaking our truths, our delights, successes, failures, frustrations, glimmers of awe, things that make us laugh, moments of peace, new ideas, lessons learned and relearned, can help us process all that life brings. In terms of the energetic body, it is believed that when the fifth chakra — or Visuddha, the throat chakra — is stifled it leads to physical problems in the voice, sore throats, ears aches, jaw, head and neck, as well as emotions such as fear, shyness, and shame. And of course it works both ways — if someone has regularly experienced shame, been told that their voices don’t count, or had hard repercussions for voicing their needs etc then over time this, along with physical causes, can lead to voice atrophy, jaw clenching, and tightened neck muscles. 

One of the many benefits of being in a safe and welcoming community where people have had common experiences is that it allows for a sense of belonging and acceptance. The sINgSPIRE program not only helps us with the physical issues of voices that have been strained by coughing, lung issues, and medications, it also provides us with a place to find ease and healing from the psychosocial and emotional restrictions that a disease like CF can cause. 

It is because of this the idea of FIKA (the Swedish word for break time) was born - a monthly gathering where we can feel empowered to find our voices through the sharing of our stories. The goal is to develop our storytelling skills, or art of expression, by telling each other long and short, serious and fun, stories about our lives. A few of us have been preparing/ practicing as we move to host a FIKA for everyone in our sINgSPIRE community. During these FIKA sessions, I have greatly enjoyed finding harmony, resonance, vibration — all musical and fifth chakra words — and sometimes entirely new lessons and perspectives with each story told. Sometimes we use prompts, easy story building exercises, and photos to help us get going, and other times the stories just flow.

We hope that you will join us for our first official FIKA. To sign to receive the link and this month’s prompt, visit: www.breathebravely.org/singspirecommunity

-FIKA Q&A-

  • What is FIKA?

    • FIKA is a concept, a state of mind, an attitude and an important part of Swedish culture. Many Swedes consider that it is almost essential to make time for FIKA every day. It means making time for friends and colleagues to share a cup of coffee (or tea) and a little something to eat.

  • How do I prepare?

    • Individuals who have signed up will receive an email with the month’s FIKA prompt & meeting link.

    • Some might choose to write out their story. Some might choose to make notes to talk about during FIKA. Some might bring pictures to talk about. Some might choose simply to listen and learn and share their thoughts later. Or, simply come to enjoy your community. There’s no wrong way to FIKA.

    • The day of FIKA make yourself some coffee, tea, or grab your favorite beverage. Grab a snack, and ZOOM.

Erin McCawstory, voice, cystic fibrosis, Community1 Comment