One of my passions is interacting with individuals and listening to their experiences. It’s one of my favorite things. This thing I love and feel passionate about is called storytelling. Have you heard about this before? Of course you have.

Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of communication. We tell stories to teach, to encourage, to comfort, to create, to make sense of ourselves, and to make sense of others.  We experience this form of communication in just about every interaction we have with others from the teller at the bank who asks about your day to your wife or husband who shares with you a moment at work. We are surrounded by stories and much of the time we don’t even notice.

Let’s take a look.

My husband and I were out on an hour long run in 84 degree Arizona midday heat. I can honestly say the mental challenge of running in that heat was close to unbearable. The concrete sidewalks added a lovely dimension to my already faltering mindset. The dry heat made my mouth taste like I licked a dead carcass off the sidewalk. In Arizona a rattle snake can be dead for 48 hours and still bite to kill. So yes, there is such a thing as an undead carcass.

We ran past two couples enjoying a Sunday cocktail on their cool shaded patio. To be funny I yelled out, “HELPPP Meeeee.” To never cry wolf I turned back and said, “just kidding,” but I wasn’t. Its not like me to complain. 

As we ran along a woman wearing white shorts and a white top resembling a window screen walked briskly by saying, “I used to run six miles before work everyday and now I walk four miles.” She laughed out loud as she shared her past memory then commented, “its funny how things change.” My husband replied, “the important part is you keep moving.” Confucius says, “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

Let’s get back on task.

Stories are told at particular times to particular audiences. The walking woman was reminded about her six mile runs before work when she saw us running. If she was anywhere else she might not have had that same memory in that same way. And what’s interesting and often not considered is a story is never told the same way twice. Think about that. The storyteller inherently changes the story with each retelling depending upon the listener. It’s kind of a natural performance. Exactly. Storytelling is a performance.

Oh boy. I just opened a whole new can of worms.

Storytelling is an embodied experience between both the teller and the listener. The teller embodies the telling and the listener embodies the listening and together they both experience the story in their minds and in their bodies. Hence a performance. Can you see that? Are you still with me? Think about a time when you told a story to a particular person at a particular time in a particular way. We do this all the time. Every single one of us. We perform ourselves for ourselves and for others constantly. Within the interaction of storytelling we make our identities.

Let’s get a clearer picture.

The woman runner created her identity as a runner. She shared “I used to run six miles before work everyday.” But she did more than that. She added her six mile daily distance to the front end of, “before I went to work.” She made an identity that not only cares about her physical health, but one that cares about letting us know she does this distance “BEFORE work.” Perhaps her identity in that moment was as a hardcore runner because she perceived us as hardcore runners since it was 84 degrees in the desert. I didn’t feel hardcore with all my crying and complaining. Little did she know I was calling out to everyone on a bike, in a car, and in a golf cart for help. “Save me from this heat.”

Storytelling no matter how brief an interaction has the ability to create belonging. In the blink of an eye I perceived that woman runner as hardcore, dedicated to work, and passionate about running. I feel connected to her story. I’m passionate about the same things.

The element of beauty within storytelling is that the told story becomes that of the listener. Take for example the woman runner. Her story has become part of my story. Here it is in my writing. It is now my story to retell. When we open ourselves up to storytelling we open ourselves up to change. Storytelling is an opportunity to learn about ourselves and others.

Remember, Storytelling is one of the earliest forms of communication and is a critical part of our human experience. It is a gift to both the teller and to the listener. We make our identities within the space of storytelling. A story is never told the same way twice. And once a story is told it becomes that of the listeners to retell as there own. Storytelling has the ability to change us if we allow ourselves to be open to change.