The Power of Stories

Through the stories we share weave our pattern of place into the world around us. These are the threads connecting us to our outer surroundings, as well as orienting our inner realms of understanding. 

Our reality is constructed through the stories we receive and repeat. Some are presented as truth, while others are dismissed as myth.

Often, ‘modern’ stories carry more legitimacy within current society. Such a story is the story of progress, telling us our salvation will be found in continuously speeding forward and the havoc that extractive capitalism is wreaking on the planet will be solved through further technological advancement. Yet —

“The situation on Earth today is too dire for us to act from habit—to reenact again and again the same kinds of solutions that brought us to our present extremity.” (1)

Our actions and relations are motivated by the understanding of our roles in society. We learn to view ourselves as separate individuals, in competition for limited resources. Yet, if we look to our natural surroundings, we see that all of existence depends on collaboration. This scarcity is largely due to unequal distribution and when let go of this mindset, we recognize that our future survival is mutually codependent.

Cultural work, the work of infusing people’s imaginations with possibility, with the belief in a bigger future, is the essential fuel of revolutionary fire.(2)

Aurora Levins Morales writes the above quote in Medicine Stories, where she also speaks about the shedding of privilege as a reclamation that brings us into balance with those around us.

This book - as well as Aurora’s essays on Patreon- are provoking reflections and calls to action. She is one of many voices investigating and celebrating the power of story as a source for societal shift towards harmonious interrelation. 

The need for narratives that inspire reverence and celebrate interdependence is increasingly necessary in times of increasing alienation and dissociation. As we make meaning of the world around us, stories help us to trace our origins of being and illuminate our ways of becoming. Theirs is the potency to guide our attention and stir our emotion, bringing us together as a collective, driven by passion and a deep love for life. 

1.The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible by Charles Eisenstein 
2.Medicine Stories: Essays for Radicals byAurora Levins Morales