Story Telling

"Wendy…was just slightly disappointed when he admitted that he came to the nursery window not to see her but to listen to stories. "You see, I don't know any stories. None of the lost boys knows any stories."
"How perfectly awful," Wendy said.
Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie

Humans have always created stories as a way of making sense of the world. It’s origins our buried in our intrinsic need to share personal experiences and understanding, and no doubt grew from simple embellishments and playfulness to the wonderful abundance of imagination we enjoy today. Beyond this, however, there is the innate need to pass on knowledge, wisdom, belief and value systems from generation to generation within communities to create a sense of social connection and belonging. Creating and retelling of stories bring countless hours of fascination, amusement, excitement and pleasure to children and adults alike. A storyteller is more than a teller of stories: storytellers are entertainers, teachers and healers with a long spiritual tradition.

Everyone tells stories. Many of us don’t recognise that when we tell our family and friends what happened yesterday we’re telling a story. This storyteller lives in the creative moment and in our intuitive self. Each time we recount the story we embellish it with remembered or imagined detail, adjust the emotional tone, select different emphasis to suit different audiences. If listened to with respect and interest our intuitive story telling abilities help to develop not only our language skills, but also our social development. By reflecting on the stories in our own lives we can enhance our ability to move beyond retelling into creating imaginative stories that help to build social connections within our communities and give rise to culture and heritage.

© Beverley Paine

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