Reviving the Art of Storytelling
I am declaring 2020 the year of the story! Let's celebrate with a monthly exploration of global folklore and myths brimming with intrigue. (Perhaps in podcast form?)
I learned from Pablo Picasso that art is man's irresistible God-like creative impulse to make something from nothing as a weapon against darkness, hopelessness and chaos. I surmise that the unstoppable urge to conceive stories is as fundamentally human as is the hunger to consume them.
Stories are the wisdom that all of Creation is trying desperately to teach us, but that we refuse to hear until we witness it all played out to The End. It's made of the hero's fatal flaws that we can't see in ourselves and the sage's counsel we should have heeded. It's the dark side of the moon in our souls where evil lurks battling the bright hope that persists. It's the faithful sidekick who makes us laugh when we're deep in tragedy. It's the most good Father we never had, whose form is etched as eternity in our hearts.
I believe that if today I could harness a lifetime of courage
(I can't) and dip this head fully below the surface of the subconscious with eyes wide open, I would see it all. At once I would witness a timeless unfolding of the epic tales of all mankind. And I believe that all of those stories are rumbling below the skins of each of us.
A story is not just a series of scenes as points in time. It encapsulates our soul, and when told it carries our footprint forward through the ages. When our dust is gone, the story lives.
Stories are the fire of humanity burning gently as embers that light the way for our progeny. A listener or reader blows upon it to brighten the mystical glow and keep it alive. Soaking in that never-ending warmth, we grasp that we are not alone in an uncertain existence because someone navigated it before us and lived to tell.
I'm looking forward to this amazing adventure with you that may be pure fun, or it may just rock your world. Next stop: Sea mythology and the legend of the Selkie folk.
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| Photo by Linus Sandvide |
Stories are the wisdom that all of Creation is trying desperately to teach us, but that we refuse to hear until we witness it all played out to The End. It's made of the hero's fatal flaws that we can't see in ourselves and the sage's counsel we should have heeded. It's the dark side of the moon in our souls where evil lurks battling the bright hope that persists. It's the faithful sidekick who makes us laugh when we're deep in tragedy. It's the most good Father we never had, whose form is etched as eternity in our hearts.
 |
| Photo by Ian Espinosa |
I believe that if today I could harness a lifetime of courage
(I can't) and dip this head fully below the surface of the subconscious with eyes wide open, I would see it all. At once I would witness a timeless unfolding of the epic tales of all mankind. And I believe that all of those stories are rumbling below the skins of each of us.
A story is not just a series of scenes as points in time. It encapsulates our soul, and when told it carries our footprint forward through the ages. When our dust is gone, the story lives.
Stories are the fire of humanity burning gently as embers that light the way for our progeny. A listener or reader blows upon it to brighten the mystical glow and keep it alive. Soaking in that never-ending warmth, we grasp that we are not alone in an uncertain existence because someone navigated it before us and lived to tell.
I'm looking forward to this amazing adventure with you that may be pure fun, or it may just rock your world. Next stop: Sea mythology and the legend of the Selkie folk.
 |
| Image from Emily Hopkins' Selkie Study |
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