One of the best ways a culture is passed down is through sharing stories and fables.
I remember going to my grandparents’ house in summer vacations and waiting for the afternoon when everyone went for a nap except my great grandma who gathered all the neighborhood kids on her “Otlo”( front porch) and told us all amazing, magical, suspenseful, sometime scary stories.
Here are five reasons I believe why we all love a good story:
Possibilities: There is or can be another world beyond the one you live in. You begin to believe and treasure the possibility without hesitation and judgement.
Inspire/Imagination: Gives you hope that you can be anyone you want to be. When I was young I aspired to be like Anne from “Anne of Green Gables”one of my favorite all time book.
Relate: Allows us to believe in something or someone. Many books have taught me that my pain and sufferings are not unique many people go through this and just like the story characters I too will survive!
Moral Compass: Many of our scriptures and mythological stories teach us what is right from wrong.
Great books like the Bible, Ramayan, Mahabharat have taught us how to be and how not to be. Gives you a guide map of where you want to go and who you want to be.
Escape: This is a big one for many of us. Especially for children, stories take us in a world where its just and the characters. Well written stories always make the characters come alive and you are living in that world for that duration of time.
As we go from being children to adults we believe less and less in stories and reality kicks in. In today’s world we give so much attention to screens that the art of story telling is changing from your grandparents telling you story, you are now to video games taking you through a maze of events. I love a good story no matter how it comes to me and I continue to share the authentic stories I have learned. Next time your kids want you to turn on the TV, tell them a short story even if you make one up and watch their eyes light up. Its magic!
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