The stories of the great books, the stories of the founding of our country, the stories of the Bible.

Storytelling is the string that ties our society together, that ties us together. It’s how we keep connected to loved ones lost, and the lessons learned in previous generations. It’s how we share our experiences.

Think of the impact Anne Frank’s story has had on our understanding of the Holocaust. Think of the courage exemplified in the story of Helen Keller. Or Martin Luther King Jr. Or Malala.

People’s stories give us a window into their culture, their family — they help us understand each other and celebrate our differences, and our similarities. Now more than ever, we need to hear each other’s stories to cross the ugly divide we feel in our country and in our Colorado communities. Healing can come through finding connection one conversation at a time.

Whether it’s COVID, technology, social media or just plain busyness, we’ve lost the art of true connection. How do we fix it?

Sharing our own stories, or hearing the stories of friends, community members, neighbors, especially folks we disagree with, builds empathy and understanding.

It’s plain old science, it works.

MRI’s have shown that when you listen to someone’s story, you experience the same brain pattern as the one telling the story. It works one on one, and it works with an entire audience. You feel what they feel, experience what they experience, which is a spark for empathy.

Guess what? When you feel empathy for someone, it’s harder to dismiss them or feel hatred toward them. Even if they are on the other side of the political fence.

I often use my own life stories to explain to CU students, my own kids, or the young women we work with at SheFactor, why I’m so passionate about politics now. Politics shape so much of what we do in our daily lives, whether it be where our kids go to school and what they learn; what we pay to buy our first home, or how we run our businesses and lead our teams. The leaders we elect, the laws they pass, the regulations they hand down matter.

Telling our stories as business owners, moms, teachers impact their decisions and guide their votes.

It’s why I use the stories of government regulation crushing my franchisees to advocate for small-business owners now, or why I help moms who have lost their children in our family court system get their stories out to show the injustice and make change, or why I tell the stories of conservative students and faculty being shunned or shouted down at CU to make changes at the Capitol or in regent law to protect their voice.

Stories matter — they make policy personal. They connect people that don’t see eye to eye. They teach our children the lessons of life. They make life interesting and important. It’s time for each of us to tell our stories to make change.

I’m worried sick about our state, about our communities, about our kids. People we love are struggling. Our neighbors are hurting. Our society is in a tailspin. I see it every day as a mom, as an entrepreneur, as a CU Regent.

The way back has to start with our stories. Getting back to our basic need to understand each other and build from there. To build community one conversation at a time.

As school winds down in a few weeks, the kids, the dog and I are going to head out to meet the people of Colorado. To hear their stories and to do our part to build back community, one conversation at a time. I bought a vintage RV a couple weeks ago, along with a trailer that I set up with equipment to record conversations on the road and put them out there as a podcast called Heidi’s Colorful Colorado. I’ll share the stories in my column here as well.

I know we can launch those conversations with one thing we all have in common here — a love for our great state, for the mountains that are calling us to come together and learn the art of connection again. To heal and find a path forward.

Look to the mountaintops, Colorado, we can do this if we start with the stories!

Heidi Ganahl is a businesswoman, entrepreneur, author and at-large member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents, to which she was elected as a Republican in 2016.