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Rodin's "Walking Man" at Stanford
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Telling Great Stories
Learning to tell a good story is perhaps the most
challenging and most important thing that can occupy our species. We are ever
persuaded to add this or that perspective. And, most of us weary and
unthinking, do. But what kind of story do we want to tell our grandchildren?
Certainly we want it to include virtue, courage and kindness, loyalty and love.
Adventure and romance also should find a part. But how often do we make our
decisions with aesthetics in mind? How often do we consider our own decisions
as an author considers those of his hero? Do we live the kind of romance that
makes it into sonnets and plays? It’s like we’re in a movie and we don’t
realize the cameras are rolling, having missed the director shout “Action!”
Henry V goads his men to courage by reminding them that their heroism will make
a great and oft repeated story:
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say “To-morrow is Saint Crispian.”
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say “These wounds I had on Crispian’s day.”
As a society and as individuals, we have failed to answer
the question, “What is the meaning of life?” Douglas Adams answers sarcastically,
“42”. Apple’s question-answering program Siri (sometimes) answers the question,
“Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and
then, get some walking in, and try to live together in peace and harmony with
people of all creeds and nations.” Would Troy have fallen, Odysseus sailed or Aeneas
founded Rome with a “be nice to people” script? Would Julius have crossed the
Rubicon, Washington the Deleware, or Eisenhower the English Channel if their
stories were about living together in “peace and harmony”? This is the question
facing us every day. And, in the immortal words of Rush “If you choose not to
decide, you still have made a choice.” If we wake up without answering it for
ourselves, we let our bosses or governments or societies answer for us. Why do
you go to work on Monday morning? Why do you drink on Friday night? Why do you
do anything?
Who is telling your story?
If you do not have a clear answer, you will be at the mercy
of every wind of fancy in politics, economics or religion. Your self-confidence
will be at the mercy of every boss, supervisor, racial majority, or whomever
else happens to presume power. The conflicts in the story will lead to anxiety
and depression at best, and calm slavery at worst. The stronger your story, and
the louder your voice, the more resistant you will be to tyrants. And so, in retrospect,
I am glad that I discovered my weakness. I am glad that I remembered my own
story and learned to tell it in the face of an alternative version. I hope that
others would do likewise.
<-- Back to Part I - My Hijacked Story
<-- Back to Part I - My Hijacked Story
Telling ourselves the Gospel- in the midst of the war against sin and the fight for faith- is yet another way of remembering what story we have become a part of. In this way we remember who we are through our confidence in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, no longer blind but alive and alert.
ReplyDeleteHope you're well Dave! I was looking for a good review of the Hunger Games and remembered you had written about it.