As I consider "testing the shelf life of my convictions" (nice phrase, that), I am inclined to conflate the question with the further challenge that David issued later this morning (paraphrasing, here): if all of the storytellers, including all of us, were to disappear, the world would not lack for stories - so why would it matter? Or would it even matter? And I think there's a clue to the answer in what I see as the common thread running through our stories this morning — empowerment.
The difference between our stories, and those told by marketers, politicians, reporters, and others who tell stories almost unconsciously, is that for the most part, ours are stories of empowerment. Some examples might help:
- Wenny's tale of a teachable moment, and how the third grandson - the one who observed the secondhand lesson being learned by the sarcastic grandson, and approached Oma later to relate the lesson he'd learned - is a tale of three young men educated by a single incident, and of their grandmother's effort to demonstrate the significance of their choice-making.
- Bob's story of a friend who cared enough to give him a first-hand look at his personal commitment and to follow up with "What're you gonna do, Bob?" is another case of empowerment - a fairly deliberate one.
- Tzitel illustrated how turning a disadvantage into a distinction can be empowering "Hmmm...I'm not sure your letter is silent enough to merit special consideration."
- Cynthia showed how the monkey converted awareness into advantage in besting the buzzard for a trip to the cool upper climes without paying with his life.
In some form or other, most (perhaps all) of our stories were either illustrations of empowerment, or served to directly empower the audience (e.g. Joy's lesson that "love" was the key ingredient).
And I think, hope, and intend that to be the difference between casual, or even manipulative, storytellers and what I'll inclusively refer to as "US". Provided that we subscribe to some form of ethical cannon with regard to the employment of stories, then we can be a positive force, and that will be the reason that storytellers of such ilk would be missed. More than that, it's the reason why we should be making a difference now!
Now -- let's see if I know what I'm doing with the mechanics of posting this...
By Bill Wight
