The stories we tell

 

The middle of the week. We are half way there and it`s almost weekend, again. I have been trying to write a post for the past hour or so and all I have gotten out of it are delays, problems, malfunctions and tantrum-y programs and machines. I hope they had their fit so we can commence. 

But that is not THE story I wanted to tell. Although the moment (of the original story) is more or less gone, the fragments that resided will hopefully be enough to save the story in one way or another. I wanted to tell a story about telling stories. And we all tell stories. One way or another.

Whether we are storytellers, writers, photographers or painters, actors, musicians or parents telling their children fairy tales before bed, individuals reminiscing about moments gone, telling stories is natural to all human beings. Some people are better and more creative about presenting them, some are shy and secretive and keep them hidden for their own pleasure. But in the end, moments captured in storytelling works of art are memories and emotions that live forever. 

Thinking about ways to tell a story, to capture a moment or hold on to a memory got me thinking about that book "Stuffocation" that basically lies on a premise that people today are more and more suffocated by stuff, thus the expression "stuffocation" and that living the stories, lives, moments and collecting them as adventures and memories, in the end again and again stories to tell, remember and share are more and more important than any object you can buy.

Clothes and gadgets (and all other stuff) have become so accessible and cheap, we are suffocated by trends and must haves that most people think that getting that coveted item will make them happy in the end. And sure, maybe it will make you happy for few weeks but then, another item will come around and consume you wholere with the need to own it. So we go around the world, with our heads stuck in "stuffs", on the run to get that hot new stuff that everybody is raving about, forgetting to tell the story. Any kind of a story. Except the one about getting THE stuff.

I am not saying that we need to go "native" return to the cave and abandon all the privileges 2015 can offer us. I am just saying, look around and tell me your story. 

My story (for this blog entry) is this - I wanted to tell a story about telling stories. LOL. Maybe this whole post seems a bit coocoo and random, but hey, this is my story and this is the way I decided to tell it.

Use resources around you to be your art - cameras, pens and pencils, colors and canvases, words and strokes, and let the art you make, the story you tell be your history.

Maybe some of the coveted items have special and sentimental value and I respect that. I would probably hold on to that one too, but I think there is nothing more valuable than a story you poured your whole heart, soul and being into. Even if it is a quiet (but special and with the right intention) night (or any part of the day in any way you want it) with someone special, a loved one, a friend, relative, parent, someone whose company makes you happy, the product of your storytelling, even if it be a personal journal entry, will have unmeasurable value as a memory and a story to remember.

Some stories come as more spontaneous moments, but are equally important. Because the beauty is in the eye of the beholder and every story is worth telling.

p.s. I had this incredible urge to write this storytelling post and I could have written it in one of my journals or notebooks but the urge wanted it more public. And for few days this idea was floating in my mind, in different shapes and sizes, and then in the end this came out. What do you think of it?