To a planner like myself, the idea of a gathering without a script was a new reality. But in the heart of our community circle in Hawaiʻi, I watched stories flow like water—unforced, organic, and deeply candid. From intergenerational wisdom to the quiet realizations of how we touch the lives of others, it reminded me that when we simply trust the process, beautiful things happen. If you have a story of someone who changed your life, I encourage you to share it; you may find that in the listening and the telling, you discover the soul-nurturing connection we all need right now.
Discover the unscripted life of Renee Tillotson, founder of the Still & Moving Center in Honolulu. Learn how her 92-year-old mother’s foundational belief, humor, and an 'iconoclast tendency' to add spinach to the recipe inspired Renee’s journey of purpose and community reinvention.
The house had no floors when we bought it. My dad had laid every single one. We were finishing, polishing, days away from the varnish. So the footprints stood out like a shout. To me, they felt violent. In your face. Intrusive. Someone had been tracing our steps, waiting for us to leave, then walking right through what we had built.
They took my dad's equipment. They took anything of value — which wasn't much. He rebuilt. We rebuilt. But those footprints never left my memory.
Something about those binoculars reminded me of my grandpa. He was my favorite. And I was his. He was quiet and kind, but he also had a very sad part to him. He fought in the war, went through concentration camps and then through the Gulag. And yet, he'd find joy in me and my childhood silliness.
Last year, I told my story on stage for the first time. It was humbling and nerve-wracking. But once I did it, something shifted—I felt more alive than I had in months. And unexpectedly, more stories started coming to me. That's what happens when we share: we don't just give our stories away, we discover more of them. We discover more of ourselves. Join Stories We Carry, a monthly storytelling circle where presence matters more than perfection.
