STORYTELLING

 

The purpose of a storyteller

is not to tell you how to think,

but to give you questions

to think upon.

-Brandon Sanderson

 

 

 

 

“Store.” 

It’s the root of story, right?  And when we root out our fears, our presumptions, and our judgements, we find our true story… our own store of truth, right? We chronicle our past as it meets our present, and we do it with honesty and authenticity.

 

“Re- Store.”

Re-rooting?  Finding that interior space where our truth lies waiting… patiently waiting for us to cast away the impediments that separate us from our store, our story. We project our future as it casts off from our present, committed to holding on to that same honesty and authenticity.

 

I think we often face difficulties in finding and holding onto our own story in these complicated times, but we have as models the balladeers of medieval times all the way to the bloggers of today.  They remind us that storytellers create, communicate, and captivate. They help us find that space that holds our own story.  They guide us to explore right to the heart of our heart and the substance of our soul.  And when we find the store of our story, we restore the fragments worth carrying into our future, separating them from those best left in our past.

 

Restoration never comes of our own making. Admitting that is often hard. But look back. How many times have you been able to turn yourself around, or get yourself reset, without the encouragement of a guide?  Sometimes we find ourselves in a spiritual void and yearn for a word from a holy text, an inspirational song, or a pithy quote. And every one of those messages that carries our hearts and souls back from the brink is a relatable, resonate story.  I contend that it is our storytellers who are the most accessible messengers of those guiding words… put to prose, or poetry, or music.   

 

As Mr. Sanderson says in our opening quote, for the storyteller that sees and lives his true purpose, the result is not that we are told how to think, but that we are gifted with questions to think about… to bring us to a place of presence where we can root out our unfettered truths.  And in that place we breathe freely, we reconnect, and we restore.

 

My friend Michael has been doing this, quite brilliantly, in a series of messages sent out on Monday Mornings for over a decade. And now, as his 4-Volume set of these curated messages (yes, it’s called Monday Mornings) is in the hands of many readers of this blog, we are all coming to see just what being in the presence of a real Storyteller means.  It means laughing, and crying, and seeing ourselves through his words.  It means finding our story in his.  And in allowing him to root out the truths to which we can relate, he helps us find our own paths to our interior selves.

 

My prayer for 2022 is that our stories will be better, because we will be wiser.  My hope is that for those who have felt disconnected, from others or (more likely) from your inner self and your own story, you will pick up that gift from your favorite Storyteller.  You may just find yourself happier. You may just find yourself more complete.  And if you find the right Storyteller… honestly… you may just find yourself.

 

I send you off into this brand spanking new year with a message from an anonymous author.  I couldn’t have said it better myself!

 

 

As the dawn breaks on a new year,

let us give thanks for all we hold dear:

our health, our family and our friends.

 

Let us release our grudges, our anger and our pains,

for these are nothing but binding chains.

Let us live each day in the most loving way…

the God-conscious way.

Let us serve all who are in need,

regardless of race, color or creed.

 

Let us keep God of our own understanding in our hearts

and chant God’s name each day.

Let us lead the world from darkness to light,

from falsehood to truth,

and from wrong to right.

 

Let us remember that we are all one,

embracing all,

discriminating against none.

 

May your year be filled

with peace, prosperity and love.

May God’s blessing shower upon each of you

and bestow upon you

a bright, healthy and peaceful new year.