@ Ken – I love how your comment unfolded wonderfully as a story… I certainly agree that it’s deeply ingrained in our means of interaction… and understanding and exploring.

I enjoyed this post.

Stories? Well it’s a long one. But I firmly believe that it goes back even further than I can relate:

Many hundreds, perhaps thousands of generations ago, I can imagine a hunter-gatherer returning home to family after a successful quest. I can see the little urchins huddling up to a grandparent for warmth and comfort, listening to the story being told of the hunting and gathering that day.

I can hear the prittle-prattle of questions being asked at the curiously exciting parts of the narration. I can see the enthusiasm of the narrator as the story is retold and embellished for good effect.

And why should this practice survive?

I can imagine the learning that took place as the urchins snuggled down and awoke the next morning with new ideas fresh in their thoughts of how a great day of hunting and gathering could be experienced. I see them re-enacting the ‘great quest’ perhaps several times over, when they are at play.

And they would become knowledgeable hunter-gatherers, who would have vision and stealth to hunt and bring food to the mouths of their offspring some years later. And they would retell a wonderful story of a ‘great quest’.

I can see the elderly nodding sagely as their grandchildren snuggle up close for comfort and warmth while listening to a great story.

It’s part of us, telling and listening. Could it be in our genes?

Catchya later
.-= Ken Allan´s last blog ..What Do You Do When You Find A New Site? =-.

I enjoyed visiting your blog.

@ Joely – I share that fascination! It’s so interesting to watch our own stories evolve, as well as the narrative of history … interesting especially because none are ever objective. Ooh, evolution of stories is great food for thought .

@ Nathalie – Really good point… I’ve been writing much less fiction in recent months, but I still feel like I’m taking part in loads of storytelling. I love that there are so many different channels.

Your post really explained the different ways we as human beings connect with stories and share them with others. I love it!
.-= Nathalie Lussier´s last blog ..Organic Food: The Raw Debate Over Benefits of Organic =-.

And yet, I’m often surprised by how much I remember of other people’s stories, even if at the time I might have been telling myself off for being distracted.

What’s even more interesting – to the point of being fascinating and worth exploring further – is the way that our stories change with time. We gain new perspective with time as we grow and change, and so our stories about even the same events change. So stories are evolving the way we are, as we re-interpret our own narratives.
.-= Joely Black´s last blog ..Further thoughts on the joys of editing (it’s like art, really) =-.

As I began teaching my own students this year, I realized that I was doing the same thing again. So I eased up a bit. I find now that storytelling is one of the best ways to show kids how you can make real-life connections in texts. I’ve kept some of the mystery of “Ms. A” alive, of course, but I am more willing now to tell them about a dinner table fight I had with my sister at the age of 12 over the lyrics of “Come As You Are” because it helps explain what topics are available for writing memoir, for example. Yes, now they think I’m crazy and they make fun of me because they can see a little bit of who I really am – crazy – but I think they also appreciate that I trust them enough to show them my own thought processes and connections.