Poets and storytellers use language to shape stories to tell truths and verses that appeal to the heart.
People across the world use words to create new meanings or use them to slander and hurt another’s soul. A Word given, carried a lot of meaning when men and humans just trusted each other deeply. Today it is broken as soon as it is uttered and very often hundreds of people wag their tongues freely both to hurt and to heal. Words strung together appropriately can be a good story.
How responsible do we feel when I speak? I often contemplate on this. Dr.Emoto in Japan used to experiment with water and crystals and he found that when water was exposed to words like love , gratitude, and wisdom the water formed stunningly beautiful crystals and when subject to words like hate and ugly they were dark and malformed. Are these then evidences of the spoken word and language used? Just like the butterfly effect our feelings and emotions have an effect on the world moment by moment. The words we speak can contribute to creating and peaceful world and that’s why storytelling is so important when a set of listeners and tellers create a synergy of peace love and beauty in the room where the story is being told.
I love to belong to that connection which bonds the teller and listener through both words and silence. Silence is the space where one can reflect on words said and to find new words of truth and kindness to share.
Having said this, I feel anguished when people just turn into storytellers. Who can be a true storyteller? Is there a quality which is beyond voice body language and external skills alone which makes storytelling, sweeter?
Excerpt from a classic Greek myth goes…..
“Suddenly a voice said, “Perseus, Why are you weeping?” Perseus raised his head in surprise, and he saw a strange looking little fellow, with an odd shaped cap and wings on his shoes. It was none other than the swift footed God mercury, kind and comforting in the tone in which the stranger asked the question that, almost before he knew it, Perseus was telling him the whole story. So a story fellow or storyteller has to be one who instantly absorbs other people stories too with a deep feeling of love, acceptance and integrity in one self.