I am thankful for stories… All sorts of stories - books, graphic books, movies, podcasts, scripts… There are so many ways we can read or hear stories. Stories help us understand the world around us. My prior discussions of archetypes are one way to understand how stories help us relate to ourselves and to others. Stories teach us things about ourselves we didn’t know before, and stories help us learn to THINK. We don’t have to agree with or like every story we read or hear in order to learn from it. Of course, as an English teacher, I’ve encountered numerous complaints about how students don’t like something they were assigned to read. However, not all stories have to be in book/novel form - they can be short illustrations that help make a point about a situation. That is how Jesus taught his disciples, and then He told his followers to teach their children in His way (storytelling!). Thinking about this, I looked up the definitions of “story” and “parable”.
Definition of story (Merriam-Webster): an account of incidents or events; a statement regarding the facts pertinent to a situation in question; a fictional narrative shorter than a novel. From the Latin “historia” - history.
Definition of parable (Merriam-Webster): a usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle. From Greek “parabole” - comparison, side by side.
The beauty of finding the definitions demonstrates, to me, that stories are useful for teaching and learning - a parable IS a story that makes a side-by-side comparison, and it’s usually understood that the listener or reader will be making a judgment at the end of the story. Because a parable is a story, we can extend our understanding of a side-by-side judgment to stories in general. We often identify with some character, usually the “hero”, of a story. By empathizing or understanding the hero’s activities during a story, we can come to some type of understanding about ourselves through what happens to the hero, or whatever character we identify with. If we go along with this understanding, movies, plays, fairy tales, legends, and all sorts of stories can then become parables for our lives, something from which we develop our morals, principles, attitudes, and viewpoints. Stop thinking of stories as entertainment, and begin to see them as what they were really meant for - guidance through our complicated journeys in “real-life”. For centuries, cultures have answered important questions with stories or tales. the questions posed are usual esoteric in nature, and not easily satisfied with a quick line or two of advice. For example, Jesus usually told a parable in response to a follower’s question, so the questioner ended up reasoning things out for himself rather than just being told the answer. If you take some time to look up storytelling quotes on Google, you’ll find hundreds of quotes about stories and storytelling, most of which ring true in their various forms of wisdom. Cultures have used stories for healing, wisdom, and learning much longer than our contemporary studies of science and psychology.
Maybe what we’re missing is the point of the stories. Yes, stories can help us escape from our own lives for while - that’s the real beauty. We think we have suspended any analysis or activity in our personal lives only to leave a story with the realization that we have more understanding than just a little time before. What would happen if we left each story with a question, such as “In the story I just experienced, what were the part I liked the best, and why did I like them”? Better yet, what would happen if we approached every story with a question, question like “What am I seeking in my own life that this story might give me insight about”? Instead of striking ahead blindly through our lives, what would happen if we began to see ourselves in the stories we hear and see?
Maybe you’re thankful for something today - I hope so. I’ve found that being thankful sure has changed my attitude about goes on around me. Besides, I usually have a story about the thing I’m grateful, and stories sure do make my life a little brighter!
No comments:
Post a Comment