The Magic of Storytelling
Storytelling, in my personal opinion, is the most powerful and useful thing that humans have ever created or discovered. While that may sound biased and unsurprising coming from an author, I think that it remains true all the same. It’s the only thing we can rightly say is as old as the discovery of fire, and is equally as important in the development of our species both in the past, and still to come in the future.
Stories have been used to remember the past since before we could write. They are a way of scaring, inspiring, educating, entertaining, and questioning. Great stories can come to define an entire people, or be the basis for social change, or even be so powerful that they can be the foundation for entire religions or ideals for which people will sacrifice their own lives. Stories of great explorers over our vast oceans motivate people to explore space today, or dive deeper below our seas than any have gone before. Stories inspire people to become doctors which save lives, or artists which reimagine the world around them. They can warn us of the faults of the past or the dangers that exist in nature. Stories are how we learn of other peoples’ experiences and emotions. They are how we connect our consciousness to one another in ways that allow us to see each other as people, and not as objects to be used or destroyed. Ironically, stories can also be used to make people appear as things worthy of destruction, or less than human.
I came to understand this power of storytelling from a very young age while sitting around the campfires in the Mojave Desert listening to people tell their tales. They told stories of family, of conflict, of past vacations and adventures, of accomplishments and great feats, and of people long gone from their lives. As I grew interested in history and the stories of peoples past, I realized that what we were doing in the desert with our dirt bikes and tents was no different than the ancient communities of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. When the work (or play) was done for the day everybody would gather around the fire to eat and share stories. This connection between ourselves and ancient/pre-historic peoples who are often seen as “unevolved” or, “primitive,” by modern standards grounded me in the reality that the only thing that has changed for our species is our technology. Humans, at our core, are storytellers and adventurers regardless if we wear a loincloth, plate armor, or manufactured cotton and polyester.
Without stories we would not have a civilization. They are the records of why we matter and who we are. They are the records that show that we were here. When looking to answer the question of “what’s my place in this universe, and why does it matter,” we rely on stories to provide those answers. Regardless of religion or belief on the purpose of humanity in this universe, it always comes down to telling your story. Abrahamic religions require you to live a story that meets their criteria for eternal salvation, while reincarnation require you to live a story that meets theirs. The less spiritual in the world still strive to leave their mark and leave their legacies through the power of their own life stories and what they can accomplish. This is the magic of storytelling. With a warm fire and a great story, you can inspire humanity to accomplish anything it sets its mind to. We are the villains, the heroes, the monsters, and the gods.
This is the reason I am so inspired to tell stories; to create fantastical worlds and larger-than-life heroes. I want to leave my mark, my story, as one of somebody that told inspiring and engaging tales that gave people reasons to feel something. Anything. And, I want to tell stories that can get people to examine the world around them in ways they had never done before, hopefully providing different perspectives to their own. I personally detest the obsession that follows this man that I’m about to quote, but there is no denying his talent for storytelling as he left a fantastic line in his play, As You Like It, which shows that my feelings on the subject are much older than myself, and not an original thought.
”All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” - William Shakespeare
