What’s Story? What’s Truth?
This week I found myself having a fascinating discussion around Truths, truths, and stories with a friend. It inspired the following.
Stories can be used as metaphors. In fact, we are surrounded by stories we are often unconscious of.
We can only perceive within what we have come to know, and we have only come to know what we do within a very 📝Limited Scope and view of the infinite realities that are.
This is where I believe play comes in.
I personally don’t see many things to be absolute truths with a capital T other than the interconnectedness that is – that is the only Truth for me. I also welcome and understand that others may have 📝Different Notions of Truths than I do, and that’s okay!
Outside of our 📝Interconnectedness with all that is our truths are quite limited to our human interpretation of experience and our want to constantly 📝Interpret, Categorize, and Understand. I don’t think this process is incorrect or wrong in any way. However, I invite one to question the nature of this process and where it leads.
When it comes to storytelling, I find that if there are narratives that invite others to be inspired or feel impassioned, for instance by being a part of a cosmic awakening process, I'm all for it. And if these stories don’t serve someone or they don’t feel aligned, what is so beautiful is they are simply 📝Stories and one can choose not to adopt that story as truth for themselves.
I do want to note that there are Truths that have been defined by scientists that benefit us in understanding and adapting. Rather than creating any confusion here I’ll share the following example as it is timely. Viruses are real. Their existence being true, and their impact on humans being damaging and possibly even leading to death.
Truth vs. Story
With truths, one is told what 'is' based on another's understanding of what is, which may be built on another's understanding of what is, which may also be built on another's understanding of what is and so forth. This can be limiting and doesn't always invite a dialogue, or often fails to consider that the person receiving the 'truth' would have something to add to it. It is fixed.
Once a truth is written, it is. The process of adding to this truth once documented is not impossible, but rather complex and takes a high level of privilege to access. That being said I recognize the importance to uphold some level of credential as truths are rather important in how we frame our world and we want those who uncover these truths to do so in an informed way.
With stories, one isn’t told what is, they are simply invited to question and discover for themselves through open reflection and interpretation. The process of storytelling is personal, and there is no 'correct' way, though some forms of storytelling can be more effective. It is flexible.
A story is never told the same way twice. A story is unique to being what it is in this moment while constantly evolving forward. It is flowing.
The most important differentiator I find is as follows –
Everyone can be a storyteller. In fact, we all ARE storytellers.
Only some can be 📝'truth' Interpreters based on credentials set up within a system of extreme oppression that makes it difficult for certain groups of people to access or even be aware of the system in which one could become a 'truth' interpreter.
The lower case truths are thus inherently privileged, while stories are what we all already do.
Stories aren't 'truth', but they can be.'truth' Interpreter
Deciphering the story of Truths and truths
One may have a hard time deciphering truth and what it is given we are taught truths as if they were truths with a capital T when they aren’t, 📝truths are Simply Stories.
For these reasons, I am a 📝Radical Storyteller through and through.
For me, something like science (which often hold lots of our collective known truths) is a specific area of the library that holds oh so many stories! Some that are deeeeeeeply influential and helpful in our experience. But are they True if they will change in 500 years? Personally, I’d say it’s all story, or what we often know as lower case truths.
Additionally, this specific wing of the library requires a code, password, belonging to a hierarchical group, and that you be in the flesh of those whose voices have predominantly mattered in this field until as of more recently (white/male), though the work to be done here is still immense.
Again, hinting at how deeply problematic it is if we solely focus on science – a field that was built within a system of extreme oppression and compartmentalization of the Self and the Universe for personal gain and domination. We must consider how to take science outside of its problematic birthplace and bring it into a space where it is accessible and can truly flourish.
Parting Notes
All Truths, truths, and stories are pieces of a puzzle that make up our whole. This is not to say these lower case truths aren't important to the equation, but simply that they aren't THE equation. They are part of the whole, but they themselves are not the whole. And it is vital we consider who is making up the scientific part (or often the truths) of the puzzle and why. If science has historically been mostly done through a narrow lens...how accurate can those truths be in considering and reflecting back the diversity of all beings and knowledge?
There are infinite ways to story tell, and humans are masters of this. Storytelling is in everything we do.