A few years ago, in the wintertime, my Grandfather and I were sitting in front of the fire in my family home. We had just returned from viewing a film that unsettled us both. I’m sure you know the feeling; your heart is heavy and there is a certain haze resting over your mind as you return to reality. As we sat with hot cups of tea and tried to understand the unrest in our spirits, my Grandfather looked over at me, set his glasses on his nose, and with his age-old wisdom said “Frances, if you want to change a society, you need to tell a different story.” 

Somewhat fitting coming from the lips of a great storyteller himself, the words of my Grandfather stuck in my mind, and have sat with me ever since. They stirred in me a desire to understand the significance of stories, and as I have learned of such, I have come to realise that life itself is built on the stories that we tell.  

Throughout history storytelling has been at the heart of societies and cultures. Consider the many stories of the Bible, Hindu scriptures, and the oral narratives of indigenous peoples. Stories are history, they are art and they are a crucial element to what makes us human. They transcend the walls we build around ourselves; children lap up the magic of a bedtime story, sailors tell tales on the high seas, and we are captivated by them on the cinema screen time and time again. Stories no doubt run in the very bones of our human nature.  

Storytelling itself is a powerful tool that can either be harnessed for good or exploited. While I have learnt to understand the beauty of storytelling, I have also become wary of its dangers. Perhaps the most obvious example of this is the advertising industry and the stories they tell us about ourselves. Because we recognise the art form of storytelling so immediately, it is easy to never critically consider the stories we are buying into about ourselves, others and the world around us.  

You yourself are a storyteller, whether you recognise it or not, simply because you are human. There are stories we tell about ourselves when we wake up and dress in the morning, when we choose what to put on the internet, even in the words that we say to loved ones. As we drift into an unsettled and turbulent time in history it is our responsibility to carefully consider the stories we choose to tell about ourselves and others, and which stories we give our attention and resources to. Stories have directed the path of human history, and they will continue to do so until the end of time. Let us not trivialise their significance, but rather treasure them for the precious tool and art form that they are. 

Featured image: https://www.pinterest.nz/pin/130885932908728009/