Story is more than just a construct of events; it’s a concept that powers our lives. Most of us go through our days unaware of the huge role and impact that it packs, but our brains are programmed to think in terms of Story. It’s the way we make sense out of our experiences on the planet. It’s the way we learn. It’s the way we are persuaded to do one thing or another. It’s the way we survive.
As humans, we need to eat and drink, we need to sleep, we need to procreate. But one of our most primal needs beyond this, is the need to communicate. Story has always been with us. The first speech and cave drawings told stories, and the survivors who went on to contribute their genes to the growing pool of humanity were those who listened best and thereby learned which paths to avoid, where to find the most berries, and how to treat a snake bite.
We absorb a mountain of stimuli every day and our little skull computers sort and process it in terms of story, so that it makes sense and becomes useful. The word “story” is derived from the Latin, historia, and until the 1500s was not differentiated from historical fact. In math class, we puzzled over story problems to learn how to manipulate space, time, and solid objects so that we could understand how they relate to each other and to ourselves. Story is the best teaching tool we’ve got because when we deal in story, the subject matter has already been converted into the format that’s most easily assimilated by our brains.
We learn a lot from Story every day, and now that you know, you can welcome more of it into your life. It’s delicious, nutritious, and oh so fun, but like everything else in life, it pays to be choosy about the kinds of Story you consume.
Stick with me to learn more about Story Power. Sign up for my reader’s group! I’ll keep you updated on what I’m learning, and I’ll send you some of my own stories, FREE. Feed your brain and have fun.
