Where are stories born? Where do they reside? Across the expanse of time and space, all of us, each and every one, has a story within us. A story of endurance and grit, a story of struggle and strife, a story of great learning through even greater pitfalls. A story that should be written, should be penned down, should be noted. But why?
For the sheer joy of witnessing your own life from a distance. The way we are catapulted from one place to another, from one life to another, from one situation to another. The way we lead lives within lives. The way divinity guides us and makes us flow. And for the agnostic, there is a force that is guiding them, even if they choose to not accept or ignore it.
So why is this, this very poignant story, my craving, my desire to explore? Because of many reasons. Stories can be very becoming, especially when shared with a group of people or even an individual who may just find some comfort in listening to them. Our narratives define who we are and the choices we make in our lives. Why keep them to ourselves? Have you ever thought about the ripple effect your story could have on a person and even an entire generation?
Stories mark time. They give us a sense of feeling what the protagonist was going through, what he thought and felt, and what he believed to be true for him. Stories that we tell ourselves every night before we go to bed and the first thing when we wake up in the morning, are the stories that grow and expand within us. There is a force, in my perspective that pushes certain thoughts to the surface and those that even manifest in our dreams, however strange they may seem. Stories wake us up from the deep slumber of our own souls. I do believe that in writing down our own stories, we have the ability to heal various aspects of that story and to think of parallel narratives, that can just be so revealing.
When a story is born, it is to be celebrated as much as the birth of a child. The story is pregnant with great potential, to touch lives and to inspire, heal and connect. Yes many times, it may not be necessary to go into the deeper meaning of every story, but just to narrate it as it is, as you see or feel it. The lessons or the meaning behind them will get apparent eventually, after months or even years, or sometimes not at all.
That is why I love the term - 'Story Medicine' or healing stories. They are so replete with wisdom, that one cannot but marvel at their subtlety. And to someone who is new to the concept, it may seem too far-fetched or abstract, or even strange. But I do know that on persistent repetition of the story, especially to children, you are framing and transforming their inner character, and their inner fount of wisdom is being nourished time and again. The fruits of this, fortunately, or unfortunately are not something that is tangible or that can be measured and statistically proved. However, it is something that, if you dare to try, if you dare to explore, has life-changing possibilities and consequences.
Therefore, be open to listening to and exploring, the stories within your own stories. The stories that a family carries from one generation to another. Sometimes faulty or inaccurate family narratives can damage generations. Just as a story can heal, a wrong perception can dampen and destroy. Because everything in this world has innate power, and it can go either way, to help or to hinder progress. When we can voice that story, give it shape, colour, a pattern, and breathe life into it, we can see what our ancestors thought of and how their stories somehow are a part of our own personal story. This can have such a cohesive healing effect, to understand where the story has come from and how it was passed on from generation to generation.
The stories within me, speak to the stories within you
What do they say, I pray? For now, they just are happy just to be shared, just to be acknowledged, just to be heard.
And then?
The stories wash across your heart and soul, and they water the parched ground of your mind. There they rest, they sprout, they grow, and they create connections from your head to your entire body, and soon, there is a new story, renewed hope , a new sense of living and being, that will take you over oceans that you fear to cross, over the bridges that you hesitated to walk on, the mountains that you never felt you could climb.
And it is exhausting, my friend, but even more exhilarating. And then a new story is born, one that you can share with your children, your children's children and they may share that story, only to grow and reap rewards for someone else, a person you may not know or ever see, yet you had the power to touch them with the power of your story - and that is nothing short of a superpower.
Xoxo
The Storyteller_Mumbai