How Stories Shape Us
Part I: The Power of Story
* This is part I of III for the essay series How Stories Shape Us
A 7.5-minute read and/or listen.
Stories contain humanity’s best hopes. Like a mountain spring, stories originate at the source of our creativity and, through our reflection upon them, become the vehicle for our further communication with that source.
— Lewis Mehl-Madrona
Among the layers of human existence lies an intriguing diversity of interconnected storylines. Indeed, stories have always held a sacred place in our collective consciousness, guiding us through the changes of time, braiding our hearts’ wisdom with the rhythms of Earth, and shaping our felt-sense understanding of life’s mysteries. Story is the ancient art of expression that transcends linguistics, culture, time, and technology, touching mythic depths of our being and connecting us to the profound wisdom of our wild nature. Story will always be our compass, illuminating the path of self-and-other-discovery, allowing us to orient as we humbly weave the far-reaching threads of our shared humanity.
Stories give meaning and purpose to our lives, inspiring and moving us in enigmatic ways. They are the hallowed mirrors through which we reflect on our identities and make sense of the complexities of our human experience. They have the power to bridge cultures and generations, fostering a compassionate awakening of shared experience and an empathic dissolution of perceived barriers. With the same power, however, stories often fortify rigid structures of divisiveness and fuel the fires of greed, hatred, and intolerance, casting shadows that darken the collective spirit and sow seeds of discord in the communal garden of humanity.
Joan Didion once wrote, "We tell ourselves stories in order to live." This deep well of a statement soberly encapsulates the essence of our real reliance on narrative. Story is the canvas on which we design our realities, helping us to meaningfully and creatively navigate the vast terrain of human feeling, emotion, and experience. Stories breathe life into our imagination, evoke our purpose, and embolden us to embark on transformative journeys, both individually and collectively.
In a practical sense, Joan’s statement implies that storytelling is a process of constructing narratives that serve as wayfaring mechanisms as we track the wandering paths of life, making sense out of the mystery. Stories support our meetings with challenge and longing, love and hatred, hope and triumph. They hold our vision and pull our hearts toward that which is most meaningful and important.
As inherent artists of life, we consistently craft and reshape our stories over time, defining our reality to meet our needs and desires. We lean on our stories to self-reflect, self-express, and self-empower. As collectives, we lean on them to co-create cohesive narratives and cooperative throughlines. Unfortunately, this often occurs to the misfortune of other groups, whose stories are seemingly at odds to our own, highlighting the ever-important need for real sensitivity, openness, and inclusivity in our co-creative processes. Our stories are rarely worthy of static solidity, and we will likely never discover a wholly unifying narrative to rely upon. And maybe that is the point.
Of course, storying is not a one-way path of influence. We not only create stories, but are also created by them. Stories shape us. They are a living alchemical conversation with all that is. Their transformative, dynamic force influences our existence in equal measure to our own generative creativity.
Through the intertwining dance of storytelling, we not only give rise to transformative narratives but also become moulded vessels that carry their profound impact out into the world. As we surrender ourselves to their metamorphic embrace, we recognise that the stories we tell and the stories that are told of us coalesce into a textile of collective meaning, where threads of connection resonate with the timeless essence of Creation.
So, what makes stories so integral to our existence? How do they possess the power to shape our lives? And how might we more consciously leverage that power for our own heart-felt purposes? The answer lies in their spell-binding, connective abilities. Stories connect people with place, place with people; they connect the metaphysical with the biological, the psychological with the sociological, the epistemological with the ontological, the phytochemical with the wholly spiritual, and so on, inciting relational influence and transformation through mutually adaptive dialogue.
Ultimately, stories have the incredible ability to bring about immediate and lasting change in the relational Kosmos, from the most obvious and visible to the most subtle and invisible. Story is a doorway into the creative and generative realm of interconnected co-arising. For this reason, they contain humanity’s best hopes for forging a future that nurtures and nourishes an abundant and flourishing existence for all. In subsequent essays, we will explore these questions further. For now, here is a micro-story from a wise and memorable storyteller:
Everything is connected. The past, present, and future are interdependent and co-arise together. Just as a flower depends on sunlight, water, and soil to bloom, all beings depend on one another for their existence and evolution.
— Buddha
Take the time to absorb and deeply feel the story told by Buddha as well as the one that I have shared with you today. How do they interact with your own narratives and those that you witness being lived around you? Why might such interactions matter? Who might you become if you allow yourself to be changed by them, if only a little?
* This is part I of III for the essay series How Stories Shape Us