A day of Stories
Today is a day of stories, a day of imagination.
Yesterday was a day of observation and experience. Today we tell stories.
I hope you don’t mind but this article is less about the science and more about the experience and practice of Observance and Imagination. It’s been a couple of crazy days with some impressive elemental displays going on down the East Coast of Australia. It was a day of experience and observance. here’s how it went:
I hope you don’t mind but this article is a little less about the science and more about the experience of Observance and Imagination. It’s been a couple of crazy days with some impressive elemental displays going on down the East Coast of Australia. It was a day of experience and observance. here’s how it went:
June 4th, 2016 – Storm
It rained and it rained like the clouds ran out of room for all the water and had to bail it all out onto the earth.Too much for the earth, it seems as the creeks and rivers scrambled to pour their new over-abundance across the land in wide brown ribbons and sheets with a renewed and urgent disregard for their set boundaries. The wind was in a bit of a rush to get somewhere important as it swirled and screamed over the treetops and around the headlands. The ocean decided it was a good idea to sweep its tide to the highest point it’s been all year and perhaps inspired by everyone’s extravagant behavior and maybe in competition with the rain and the tide, the Pacific sent in some super-sized waves, pummelling the coast and majestically demanding our attention. Then, as if embarrassed by the immature behavior of the impatient and dynamic earthly elements, the moon turned its face fully away, a sabbatical from the white, green and deep blue to warm its wise face in the constancy and peace of the sun.
We love stories. So much folklore, religion, family history and mythology has been passed down using stories, told from person to person, family to family, bard to community. Stories have been the source of wisdom, bonding and entertainment since the beginning of time, experienced primarily through word-of-mouth, over meals and at social gatherings. It’s only recently that cultures have become so privileged to have such a high rate of literacy. Reading quickly took over word-of-mouth and very recently film and little 6 second videos have taken over as the preferred method of storytelling. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, it just is. But sometimes it’s nice to go back to the old way of storytelling.
A story doesn’t have to be very long. In fact, it can be as short as 6 words. Earnest Hemingway famously told one of these. It went:
“For sale, babies shoes, never worn.”
(Actually in 1906, before Hemmingway even started writing, an article appeared in a newspaper saying “For sale, baby carriage, never been used. Apply at this office.” (Open culture) Maybe Hemmingway was inspired by this article.)
Strength of imagination
It takes a strong imagination to tell a good story. When was the last time you told a good story? How did you tell it? Was it word of mouth, video, in an email, on Facebook? Was it a story using only pictures, some kind of art or maybe music, like “Peter and the Wolf” by Serg Prokofiev or “Alice’s Theme” by Danny Elfman.
How would you rate the strength of your imagination?
Your Story Telling
The theme of this blog is the PRACTICE of Observance and Imagination. With that in mind, I’d like to give you a little exercise to help strengthen your imagination.
- I’m going to give you the start of a story, the middle of a different story and the end of yet another.
- You then choose which story you’d like to have a play with then
- Create:
- an end, to my beginning,
- a beginning or an end to my middle
- a beginning to my end. (you’ll see what I mean)
- Share it with us in the comments section below.
You can use words, video, pictures, art, or whatever storytelling medium you like to bring your creation into the world. Just make it your own.
It can be as short or as long as you like. See if you can match Ernest Hemmingway’s six-word story.
Story 1 (beginning only)
The grey was reflecting in the water, shimmering and perpetually shifting shapes into a malady of dream-like images. The boy grudgingly lifted his gaze to the destruction that lay before him. Even now he wasn’t sure how it happened. There were two memories skirting the edge of his awareness and he needed to bring them into the light. He needed to find out how this happened. He needed to find out who was responsible. … (Add your bit here)
Story 2 (middle only)
(Add your bit here) … As the little plane came closer the rabbit prepared for boarding. The problem with rabbits boarding little planes, though, is that the planes don’t stop for them. The planes were never made for rabbits. The planes were the foxes’ invention and only ever stopped for foxes but the rabbit had an ingenious little trick up his sleeve. One that would not only get him on the little plane but would hopefully bring him closer to his family. … (Add your bit here)
Story 3 (end only)
(Add your bit here) … The only thing they regretted was time. Time to understand, time to learn, time to know, but most importantly time to spend together. But in the end, when all else fails, all else had indeed failed, time no longer matters. Time is the one thing that’s held fast for so long and now, as the world comes to a close, as the final sunset falls and the last white bird drifts into the distance, time will also fail.
Other articles by Steve Nossiter
Creativity – Remove reality and insert imagination
Imagination – Observation’s best friend
Imagination – Realistic vs Creative
Observance Imaginate 
Story 1 … Who on Earth had voted Liberal??
Story 2 … The rabbit had trained a dragon!
Story 3 … He decided to spell “thyme” as just “time” from now on.
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