The power of stories
Welcome to the ‘Grace Says’ section of my site. This is where I blog about anything and everything to do with words, stories, and the power they have. Stories are one of our very oldest tools. From cave art to playground rhymes, to epic poems and lengthy sagas, humans have been sharing tales since the dawn of time.
But why is that? What makes us love a narrative tale so much? There are a few reasons that spring to mind…
One very simply is: passing on important information. Stories were traditionally used to spread societal information – which could mean the difference between life and death! If you come up with a fable about why a particular animal is dangerous or why a certain place shouldn’t be entered, you can be pretty sure it’ll stick in the mind of whichever child you were hoping to protect. We still do this today with varying degrees of realism. We’ve all heard that bad things happen to the kids who go into the dark forest, or the youngster who refuses to tidy their room. After all, Santa is the ultimate accomplice to parents wishing to encourage good behaviour!
Answering the ‘whys’
A similar power of stories is the ability to pass on general cultural knowledge. All races and peoples have their creation stories, their explanations for why the rain falls, the thunder rolls, and the day turns into night. At the heart of the human experience is a hunger for knowledge. We want an explanation for why the world is the way it is. In pre-scientific times, stories were our best chance of making sense of it all. Stories can also help reinforce structure: for better or for worse they can tell us how our society expects us to behave. This may often be exaggerated in a tale, usually for effect. The antics seen in romcoms would be laughable in real life but they do say something about how we often expect courtship to play out!
A somewhat less prosaic reason is the human desire for connection. An almost inexpressible need to be part of something, to have one’s life make sense within the larger picture that surrounds us all. A story can tell us that we are not alone in our experiences and feelings. It can show that someone else went through the same hardships did and came out alright. What better encouragement is there?
Exploring the possible – and the impossible
Stories allow us to explore possibilities: the things we think might happen to us one day, as well as the things that never will. They can inspire us to try something, help us test how we might react in a certain situation or role.
They are also something you can trade with others – ‘selling’ an anecdote for laughter, awe, sympathy… The list goes on. Interpersonal bonds are deepened by the sharing of experience and by voices piping up and saying ‘Yes, that happened to me too and…’
Finally, a good story can be the greatest escape you will find. A portal into another world that feeds us, frees us, lifts up our hearts and minds. Stories can make us feel represented and inspired. And so it really matters what stories we choose to tell, because the power of stories is vast.
If you have a story to tell, but not the right words, contact me now to see how I can help!