Why Stories Matter

Part 1

Stories are mirrors in which we see our own faces, see those aspects of ourselves of which we are unconscious and unaware, and which wreak havoc in our lives.

If we read them carefully we can equip ourselves with that knowledge which will come to our aid over and over again as me make the journey we call our lives.

There is a general consensus amongst all our guides, gurus, wise women, men, and story tellers, that as we travel through life we have to be aware of certain pitfalls.

These pitfalls are universal for all humans, no matter what color, race, class or country.

Let’s take Shakespeare’s stories, for example. I count Shakespeare as one of my gurus: instead of telling us we shouldn’t be overly proud, arrogant, jealous and ambition, he shows us the fates of characters who are not aware of their own inner demons and who perish because of it.

Othello is a victim of unchecked jealousy, Macbeth of his overweening ambition, Lear of his arrogance that blinds him to true love, Hamlet of his inability to act in time.

We too, these stories seem to say, can suffer such a fate.

But Shakespeare’s tragedies hold out immense hope and faith. His heroes would not be heroes if they didn’t come to their senses, even if too late.

To see the truth, the consequences of our actions, to realize our own blindness and complicity with our destiny, is to be awake. And Shakespeare’s heroes are awake, no matter how fleetingly.

Stories are the storehouses of human wisdom.

Read carefully, with attention, they can give us treasures of wisdom that is like a lamp on a dark night.

Like lighthouses in the storm.

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