Finding Our Way Back…(part 1)

(Part 1) …..the power of story and how do we rediscover respect for our common humanity.

There are three main reasons for writing these two blogs:

Firstly, in episode 6 of Season 2 of our podcast (Hope in a Mad World which you can find on all the major podcast platforms by searching for Hope in a Mad World) we discuss this idea and i wanted to look at it again.

Secondly, during a trip to the States in March 2023 we opened up the subject of dealing with offence and the interaction was really good and enlightening.

Thirdly, Jessica and I have just launched our new website (www.thinplaces.co.uk)  which is where you can find my blogs. As a result, I have been re-editing and reviewing a lot of my previous blogs and deciding which ones to repost. In that process I came across one I did a number of years ago called - ‘Bards, peace and the power of the image’ and was challenged by some of its thoughts.

The upshot of these three things coming together in a short period of time has encouraged me to write these 2 blogs and look again at how the use of story and narrative can help us to hear, understand and move towards one another.

Storytelling has always been a major way of passing on truths and traditions from generation to generation. There was a time that this was a solely oral tradition. Where stories (sometimes set to music) were repeated without any change in their ‘essence’ although the emphasis and setting may vary to bring context and life.

In ancient cultures (and in some cultures still today) the place of the bard was revered. They were often more powerful than the chief or king of the tribe.

Imagine the scene; nightfall is descending, and the cold of the night starts to wrap it’s chill around people like an uncomfortable cloak, so, the people start to gather together around an open fire or as winter closed in and people huddled together in huts, a bard or story-teller would start to tell of the exploits of heroes of the tribe or to unfold the chronicles, legends and tales of their people. Old and young would gather in close to hear the bard’s words.

Many of the tales would be familiar but sometimes the bard would tell of new heroes and legends because it was the bards responsibility to keep the record of not just the history of the past but the history that was being made now. People would listen and, in their imaginations, they would wander to far off places and the exploits of heroes or be beguiled by the courage and sacrifice of their ancestors or inspired but the new legends arising among them. Inspiring each one in their own journey and fostering a sense of pride and honour for their own culture or respect for others and their way of life. They would laugh and cry, be encouraged and challenged, learn new truths and revisit old ones as well as glean what was needed to live a good, productive and full life.

In these ancient cultures we see this art being put to many uses. The bards would use their stories to keep the history of their people alive and dynamic, or as a means to impart truth and wisdom, or to teach, consolidate and re-emphasise values, traditions and protocols of their culture. They would also use them as a way of helping settle disputes by enabling opposing sides to see things from a different perspective.

 We still live in a story-telling world. We are hungry for stories. We all seem to have an appetite for stories – whether that’s an obsession with celebrity, or a hunger for the news… a love of ‘soaps’ or films or books’ perhaps it’s just the curiosity to know more – so when you ask someone how was their weekend and they say ‘OK’ it’s just not enough. It is totally unsatisfying, especially as you’ve heard a whisper of a few ciders, a pole and some dancing! You have to hear the whole story….. ‘OK’ just doesn’t ‘cut it’.

 Perhaps it is because deep down we realise that life is a story. We seem to have been conditioned to think of life as a kind of clinical experience … if we do this and that this will be the outcome… like 1+2 =3 but most of us realise that more often the reality is 1+2=9 for some reason! That life isn’t clinical and predictable even in the most mundane existence. ‘Stuff happens’.

Life often comes to us in the same way we read a book or view a play or film…. chapter by chapter, act by act, scene by scene. When we get up in the morning life unfolds before us. No amount of planning can really determine exactly what will happen to you in any given day – there is always the unexpected. Often, it’s mundane, sometimes comical, occasionally dramatic and from time to time, even tragic.

When we as a family sit around our dinner table at night and we recount the day it is the stories not the ‘facts’ that get our attention. We hear the story being told and, like the listeners of the ancient bards, in our imaginations we see the drama unfold and we are shocked…or worried…or perplexed… or amused….and sometimes hysterical; but more importantly we are all engaged in life’s drama.

So, what has this to do with the process of finding our way back to each other or rediscovering a common humanity* or peace-making? Understanding that life is a story, and our life is part of a bigger story brings perspective. Our story is not the only story! A big part of this process of finding a way back. The peacemaker’s art is to help us realise that our perspective is not the only one and to help others to see that life isn’t as clinical or black and white as we may want to think. That our view of the world, culture, even right and wrong is not necessarily the correct or only way of looking at the issue before us. That our life and story is not the centre piece of humanity. If we are going to find our way back to each other then we need to recognise and bring context and perspective. Giving ourselves, or helping others find, a new or different perspective is often a large key to unlocking difficult situations and helping us all find understanding, tolerance and peace with each other.

That, the storytelling, is about inspiring people to honour and respect, and not disdain and derision, to morality and virtue instead of corruption and vice, to humility and heroism and not arrogance and egotism and to mercy and grace instead of intolerance and mercilessness, promoting and celebrating the good news over the bad, diversity over uniformity, difference over conformity, peace over violence and mercy over cruelty and intolerance.

It is my hope that we can once again see a new generation recover an authentic stream of the ancient tradition of the bard. Whether that is through words or music or images.

In my next blog we will explore how we can find our way back by healing the divide.

*Common humanity – when I use this term here I am meaning it from the perspective that all humanity has common characteristics and should be treated with respect and dignity no matter the diversity that we see.