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Show Thoughts From The Garden . . . by Tonya LeMone There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories. Ursula K. LeGuin One of the greatest lines from a movie is given by one of the greatest actresses of all time, Meryl Streep, in the movie "Out of Africa". In the opening scene, with the most incredible music in the background and some of the most artistic cinematography, the actress said, "I once had a farm in Africa." That set of seven little words with very little description has been in my mind for years. It is a tag line I have used many times for the beginning of a letter to a friend or the beginning of my own story. When you hear it, you expect the unexpected to lake you on a natural journey into your imagination. That is what story telling does for us, it takes us to unexpected places and on unexpected journeys through our minds. All human beings have an innate need to hear and tell stories and to have a story to live by. I found myself telling my friend the short version story of my life. It took me to places that were wonderful and some unpleasant, but the key was it took me to another place a place where my imagination was able to run a muck. Isak Dinesen said, "to be a person is to have a story to tell." What if we did not pass these stories on to our children and grandchildren? Does that mean we cease to exist? We are the first generation bombarded with so many stories from so many authorities, none of which are our own. Our young people today are surrounded by a media center of television screens in front of them giving them countless sets of stories; fax machines bringing in yet another story; newspapers providing still another story. In a sense, we are saturated with stories and points of view, none of which are their own. The effect of this bombardment is that they just may fail to develop their own story because they don't have their own point of view. We may lose the story of their experiences and they may become a generation written about by those outside of their stories. We fail to . realize the extent stories can influence our behavior and even shape our culture. Think about the stories in the scriptures and how they taught us the fundamental rules of conduct for our culture. Think of how stories about your family have shaped your attitudes about yourself and others, some good and some not. For the first time in our life, my husband and I had the absolute joy of listening to some cowboy poetry, these were stories that talk about experiences of our heritage. We laughed, we cried and we pictured in our minds the stories as they unfolded. We learned that cowboy poetry is passed on from one generation to another and shared as a father and son or a grandfather and his beloved grandson worked and toiled together. They didn't have earphones in their ears as they worked side by side. They spoke to each other and the elder teaching the younger thoughts to be treasured for generations. Stories are just as important today as they were to Isak Dinesen in "Out of Africa". Tell your story to your children, grandchildren or write it down so they know you were here and you helped to shape their culture, attitude and love of life. I believe that our imagination is stronger than knowledge, and that our dreams are powerful, that laughter cures grief and that love can conquer death. These are part of the storyteller's creed by Robert Fulghum, make your own creed about life and tell them your story. See you in the garden .... |