Chapter 1
THE CALL
One human being. And then another, and another. That's all it takes to begin to change the world. Maybe we get caught by a flash of insight, seeing commonplace things in a new light and suddenly realize what is to be done. Though none other see it. Perhaps we have been living with a riddle, a question for a long time and one day it is mature and ready and just steps into the world. Or, it may come deeply and directly out of our being, and we just respond. We find ourselves in the middle of a situation and we just do it. Afterwards we think about what happened. And then it becomes a story.
Welcome to the world of storytelling and heartfelt good listening. This is a place where the imaginative abilities of us all can be put in service of a greater whole, supporting peaceful, transformative processes in all manner of life situations. Whether you are a parent relating to your children and spouse at home, or a corporate executive wanting to communicate with your employees; whether you are trying to mediate between warring factions or simply want to connect to a deeper source of humanity in the world – Welcome! Speaking and listening, sharing experiences within and without, is a way of being together which goes back far to the beginning of time. This is something we all know how to do, it is the birthright of every human being. You too possess this gift of entering into conversation, with yourself, with the people around you and with the deeper wisdom in the challenges and joys on your life's path. In the weaving back and forth of word and silence, stories are born. Communities of understanding can grow here. Life acquires beauty and new meaning.
This book is based on a lifetime's work, research and play with storytelling and the social arts, where two or more gather to listen and create together. Over the years a methodology has grown which develops faculties of seeing with greater heart and soul, thus expanding our capacity for wakefulness and compassion, ingenuity and radical thinking. All qualities much needed in our present time.
It is clear that living together peacefully today calls for a new development of our capacities – we need to practice new skills. Community doesn't happen naturally anymore. We seem to have lost a common language and a common ground of understanding. Estrangement from life processes and the world of nature with its living landscapes is pushing us towards alienation, and so we can feel lost in the world. Very many people experience a deep sense of loneliness and of not belonging. Wherever you turn these days, whoever you speak to or when listening to the news, there are problems of understanding each other and the needs of the earth – difficulties in communicating, coming to decisions and finding viable ways forward. Often there is a lack of, or a confusion of vision: where are we actually going, how do we navigate in life? The old forms do not hold – we see them crumbling everywhere. In spite of the strong focus on technological prowess and digital brilliance, with its promise of a united world where the machines will connect us up and free us by doing all the work for us, people are more stressed than ever, running faster and faster in their daily lives. That is, if they live in the West. Another large part of humanity is suffering depravation of life and loss of human dignity in the form of famine, poverty and exploitation. This, mind you, in a world where there would be enough food to feed us all, if we co-operated with the earth and worked it in a natural way.
The on-going eruptions of war and armed conflict in the world are direct expressions of the breakdown of speech and dialogue in a community. We know that when people are not able to express themselves with words, they turn to violence. The inner pressures of frustration, suffering and need must find an outlet. If a person cannot be creative, he easily becomes destructive. Anything to communicate. The power of the living word between people is replaced by a sword of destruction. To learn to speak and listen and take charge of your own life is fundamental and educational peace work. Storytelling activities are an excellent way of developing this practice.
Nowadays, community is a real virtue and asks of us all to be inwardly mobile and creative. At the same time, we are each confronted with the need to formulate our own values and ground of ethical living, building the world from where we stand. This is one of the big challenges for us all, in face of the many world questions and problems we are confronted with today. There are no easy answers. However, I am convinced that intimations of possible futures together in all shapes and guises lie in wait in the rich potential of our creative imagination. Nowhere else, actually. It's up to us human beings.
The work presented here comes out of a deep conviction that there indeed is something we can do about the current situation facing us in the world today. That 'something' is about coming together in freedom to connect to our common humanity and to explore the many facets of life as expressed in the individuals present. It is also about accessing the wisdom of all those who have gone before us through the myths, wonder tales, legends and spiritual legacies of the world, handed down to us through the ages by word of mouth. These stories belong to us, as the wind and the stars and sea belong to us – they come from our ancestors and contain a treasure chest full of knowledge and lived experience. But more than anything, storytelling work is about igniting the power of the human spirit, a