Heart-Lifting for Disheartening Times: Storytelling Offers Some BALANCE

It’s all so overwhelming and it seems everyone is tired, discouraged, maybe angry or cynical or depressed, maybe confused or disheartened…just weary.
Each day during this April A-Z Blogging Challenge I’ll offer a short musing on an aspect or two of the many ways the ancient-yet-very-contemporary experience of storytelling – both listening and telling – is an enjoyable, fortifying and heart-lifting practice, for anyone!

B – Storytelling Can Offer Much-Needed BALANCE!

Perhaps you’ve seen that New Yorker cartoon with the two people walking down the street…

“My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.”

With everything going on in the world, near and far, both long-term and emergent…we’re weary.

We need breaks. We need breathers and balm to give us BALANCE!

We need something different from the day’s discouraging news. Something to ease, to refresh us – our spirits need some balance to the endless news-watching or listening or doom-scrolling, or to arguing about whatever…

Storytelling! To the rescue!

Honest! – Listening, or telling, or swapping stories is an astonishingly accessible (see yesterday’s A post) and effective spirit-lifter!

Here’s a fantasy of mine (because while it may happen in other cultures – Ireland springs to mind – it really doesn’t much here in the US):

Folks getting together over wine, or tea, or cocktails, or coffee, or just sitting on folding chairs in the yard…and instead of chit chat, or small talk, or gossip, or arguing over politics, or wondering what to say next…each person has a turn to simply tell a story. Could be a personal experience true-life story. Could be a ghost story. Could be a favorite traditional tale remembered from childhood. And everyone listens to each other’s stories.

One of the most joyous and satisfying things I know is to attend an intentional “story circle” –

Story circles are often hosted/arranged by a local storytelling group or association (they exist!) – and everyone is invited to tell a story. Sometimes a theme is suggested. Often there are people who are there exclusively as listeners (so welcomed, too!). Sometimes the “quality” is “uneven” (that’s fine!), sometimes each and every tale is truly engaging and enjoyable. Almost without exception, such a gathering of story-sharing is really satisfying to everyone!

(Maybe I should have saved the above paragraph for the next blog post on the letter “C” – for circle! But with the letter C, we’ll look a bit at one of ways HOW storytelling provides a breather, and in fact a balm.)

The experience of joining with others (whether in person or virtually – ooh, I’ve enjoyed many Zoom story circles these past two years!) and telling and listening to each other tell stories (yes, often folktales and fairytales! – Can you imagine doing that? It’s so fun!) may be unusual…

…but it is such a GREAT way to provide desperately-needed balance in the onslaught of bad news and stress around us. I hope you get a chance to experience it!

You could check with your local library, and/or google local story circles or storytelling clubs or associations. For example, my local association is Rocky Mountain Storytelling, and they send out newsletters with area story circle schedules.

Or, you yourself could give it a try! Invite some friends to gather or to jump on Zoom for a new way to hang out together – Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it!

Balance out the stress-stuff by trying a new way to have fun!

Thanks for reading – Pam

Top seagull photo by Timothee Meglii. Cups photo by Nathan Dumlao. Guy on wire photo by Casy Horner. All on Unsplash.