As long as there have been people,
there have been stories. As human beings, we have a need for stories. They
exist in many forms, are presented in many mediums, and hold tales of infinite
imaginings. Throughout time there have been endless reasons for stories to come
into the world, but as American Journalist Bill Moyers said:
We tell stories to try to come to
terms with the world, to harmonize our lives with reality... Myths are stories
of our search through the ages for truth, for meaning, for significance. We all
need to tell our story and to understand our story. We all need to understand
death and to cope with death, and we all need help in our passage from birth to
life and then to death. We need for life to signify, to touch the eternal, to
understand the mysterious, to find out who we are.
Human beings always seek to
understand the world around them. We search for meaning in our world, hoping to
find something, anything, that may
make our surroundings make sense. As Moyers stated, we often do this through
stories. For it is through stories that we explore our world, across time,
across nations. Through stories we can discovering meaning and reach
understanding. In stories we can create imaginary circumstances that help us
coping with our own lives, and through stories we can find the significance of
our actions and those of others around us.
We tell stories, read stories, find
stories. In modern society we receive stories in new forms. There are tomes full of stories, plays,
puppet shows. But there are also movies, television shows, radio shows. And
through all of these we experience stories. Stories different from our own
lives. They have unique scenarios, or well-known scenes. But they are separate
from our lives, and we can use them as a lens through which we can better
understand our experiences here, in our own lives.
As I child I created my own
stories. Some were merely imagined, acted out in my play. Others I wrote down,
or told to the people surrounding me. Some of my stories were wild fantasy,
based off nothing more than a passing thought, or an idea I saw presented
somewhere. Others were closer to reality, with only some small aspect of my
world changed. Maybe in this one I had a brother, but perhaps in that one I
lived in the wild, running free with only the animals as my friends.
Regardless of the details, my
stories were my interpretations of my life, my universe. Sometimes I they were
just my own life retold to my journal. Whatever the stories, I used them, as
Moyers said, to come to terms. With my family. With my friends. With the death
of a loved one. With the mysterious wonder that was my life.
Now my stories have changes, as my
life has changed. The books I read are different, as are the movies I watch.
And the stories I tell. But I still continue to record my dreams, interpret my
world. I still cope with reality, whether I see it accurately or combine it
with my fantasies. I continue to come to terms, discovering who I am.
Do you think you have been helped more, and shaped more, by the stories you hear, read, or observe, or by the stories you write yourself? Do you use your writing as a way of interpreting, as you state in the second to last paragraph, or of escaping? It feels as if it is more the latter. And do you think this is true of people in general? Stories can be used as guidance, true, but are they not more often an escape from the dullness of our lives? Do you find that people use this escapism to learn, or as an excuse not to think about it?
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has experienced both many stories of the outside world and the stories of your mind with you, I feel as though I can understand the way these creations have shaped your interpretations. I remember when you told me of the far-off lands and people you had created, and when we shared personal stories on your porch in the cold October night. I have also been there as we tell each other of books we have read, or shows and movies we have seen. You mention the stories created by others, so I ask: which do you feel influence you the most? What about when your own stories are in the mix? I feel that those probably hold more meaning, but between yours that are written down and yours that are simply told, do you notice a difference? It is nice that these stories have been able to grow as you do, and hopefully this will continue to occur.
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