How Our Stories Can Bring Us Illumination
Story-telling is in our genes
Human beings are hard-wired to create relationships. Creating, retelling, and sharing stories with other humans is one way of making these connections. It is a way to create meaning.
History is not the truth, nor is it even based on facts. History is just a large collection of stories. Even where the facts are verifiable, you never get all the facts; thus, the story you are being told is a selective presentation. There are probably other facts in the very same story that you are not aware of that would change the entire flavor, scope, and purpose of what is being told. This is one of the reasons why so many cultures have less concern with historical accuracy and a greater concern for the relevance of the story, for the story is an expression and reflection of the ever-unfolding community identity.
There are hundreds of ways to create a story. There is narration, historical accounts, recitals, jokes, drama, tall-tales, parables, comedy, legends, historical events, autobiography, myths, biography, exposés, legends, journalism, confessions, scripts, anecdotes, etc. Often, a decision needs to be made — here the narrative is internal and psychological. In other stories something must be accomplished — this is built around external events that either moves the process forward or become obstacles to the journey told in the story.
To be a human being by definition is to be a storyteller. Each of us owns and is owned by a personal story that we need to tell. We each have memories of the things that have happened to us. For many of us, the only sense of self we have is the story we have created. What is your story?
“It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.”
― Patrick Rothfuss
Creating Meaning through Story
Many people have no sense of who they are separate from the story they have created for themselves. Like an actor in a movie all they are doing is living their idea of the “wife” story, the “husband” story, the “employer” role, reciting the “employee lines” etc. Much of what you think of as your personal, factual history is really a mix of fact and fiction filtered through your memory.
Living life like this is to be a prisoner of your self-created past. For many, this is often frightening to hear. It is as if who you think you are, is not really who you are. But that “who you are” is based on what you remember as being your truth. It does not matter whether it is true or not, only that you believe that it is true.
It soon becomes clear that at some point in time you will remember things that were once forgotten. Even when you remember these events clearly, there is always the chance they might not have happened exactly as you have remembered them. Have you ever reminisced with a friend about some event, and this person had a totally different recollection of what you remember?
Takeaway
If you realize that life is a type of game, then you have the freedom to reinvent who you are. It is not as if you are creating a lie but rather are taking a look at the facts of your past from a new and different perspective.
Author: Lewis Harrison is a serial entrepreneur, writer, teacher, public speaker, and seminar leader. He focuses on problem-solving, self-improvement, personal development, and sharing love with the world.
I have a bottomless passion for the application of game theory in decision-making. My game theory/business website is AskLewisGameTheory.com.”
“I am always exploring trends, areas of interest, and solutions to build new stories upon. Again, if you have any ideas you would like me to write about just email me at [email protected]”.
……………..Lewis
A Final Thought.
Humans seek to be more effective every day. Good fiction writing can help us get there by showing us how our characters solve problems. The Medium stories below explore this issue in-depth.