The Color Of Stories

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship,

stories are the thing we need most in the world.” 

(Philip Pullman)

Once upon a time... These words bear the power to make us sit up and take notice; they evoke an igniting of our imagination. Once upon a time... there was a castle, a distant place, a giant, a child... Down through humanity's long journey of evolution, as far back as cave drawings and oral tradition convey - stories have been the loom upon which the cloth of connection and community have been woven.

Stories have the power to take us to places we have never physically visited. In story we transcend our limitations, expand our potential, and discover both our demons and our brilliance. 

“Stories can conquer fear, you know.

They can make the heart bigger.” 

(Ben Okri)

Jesus, Buddha, and the many teachers who followed them used story to open their listener's hearts and minds. Once upon a time, said Jesus,"There was a certain creditor who had two debtors..." Once upon a time, begins the Buddha, "there was a deer, a bird, and a turtle..." Immediately their audience is taken to new places, envisioning previously unconsidered possibilities. 

One of my great joys in life is the receiving, and holding, of stories from those I encounter along the way. Over and again I am privileged to be taken into someone's world as they share their perspective on life and the roads upon which they have traveled. The telling and receiving of stories is a place without judgment, a landscape in which nothing is required beyond the mutual experience of being immersed in the story. 

“The purpose of a storyteller

is not to tell you how to think,

but to give you questions to think upon.” 

(Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings)

Sometimes, though, when someone invites me into their world through the doorway of a vignette, I forget that we are entering a sacred space together. Something in the story might push one of my buttons, provoke a reaction, and suddenly the wonder and mystery of story is rendered powerless as I counter, deny, or argue against the storyteller. 

Perhaps, though, this too is part and parcel of storytelling - that the listener is so drawn into the unfolding saga that they become a voice in the telling. A case in point was an experience at the Sundre Cafe a few weeks ago. Anna and I stopped in for coffee; at a nearby table a group of local men were having their daily dose of java and conversation. Their banter was loud enough for the whole cafe to enjoy. It was stories - of life, politics, hopes, and frustrations. They were weavers, sending the shuttle of story across the loom of life. As I walked out I stopped and chatted for a moment - so powerful was their tale that I could not resist being drawn in.

At the end of the day I close my eyes with a heart and head filled with stories - my story intersecting with the narrative of countless others. I am deeply grateful for stories, in all their forms, for within them I find the space to discover you, me, and this great mystery that is called life. 

So, I have a request of you. If you are willing, share some of your story with me. I will listen deeply, without judgment, and will honor the sacred space that story creates.

I leave the last word to Steven Moffat:

“We're all stories, in the end.” 

(Steven Moffat)

The color of stories...

once upon a time!

When we don't

know what

to say

Story

Lights

the way

The inexpressible

finds

its

voice

Tell

Listen

Breathe

To Ponder Further:

- From the Bible: " "Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants..." (Matthew 18.23; www.rc.net/wcc/parabl42.htm_

- From Hinduism: "Once, an ascetic who was on a pilgrimage came to a village. Just on the outskirts of the village..." (Source unknown; www.hindujagruti.org/hinduism-for-kids/692.html)

- From Cree legend: "I will tell the legend of the bear. I heard my grandmother tell this one – the one about the bear that lived with a child. This was how she told it." ("The Bear and the Child" Told by Joseph Guanish; www.nationnews.ca/the-bear-and-the-child/)