Story-telling and story-listening bond us in a way that builds connection, relationship, inclusion and community. Stories connect us to each other, to nature, to our ancestors and descendants, to the present, the past and the magic of imagination. Stories hold the keys for opening us up to our potential, to what’s possible. Once we open, we can begin to base our lives from a much larger pool of possibilities and direct a life that’s more of our own choosing.
Stories have the power to up-lift, heal, teach, educate, and empower. That is why people keep telling and listening to them – because certain stories make a particularly painful part of us feel seen, heard, accepted, and understood.
As children, through stories, we could begin to get the first idea that there could be a good life out there for us if we just stay open to possibilities. Critically, it was important that help could come from unimaginable places – even magical places – because for many children the reality is that they see no possibility of any help coming from anywhere.
In the realm of story there is endless potential and opportunity to see life in a different way; to confront things we once thought of as true – or false. This is a realm with a deep place in spirit – and it holds a great power for spiritual healing and awakening. It is a place that acknowledges that we are all on an individual journey as well as a collective, archetypal one.
As a storyteller, I am that voice of nature, the trickster, the hero, the wizard, the youth, or the crone. I am the opposites. I tell my story and I tell your story because in this archetypal place together we identify with everything – in our own way.
Stories cross all boundaries of difference and bring us together in ways that are truly common, and truly human.
– Denise Miller