When I see my friend’s face, hear his voice, sense his empathy for my plight in real time and space, I am given the opportunity to imagine a different way of telling the story of what has been only shame, isolation and stasis. To imagine a different story requires my brain to be in a position to do so; for I cannot imagine a future if I have no memory on which to base it. Embodied acts of this kind provide the basis for imagining new possibilities. But this takes effort and perseverance.
