Tell Me Something Good by Kate Craer

Tell me something good.  A great blog title, and an invitation into a way of life.  It’s not the typical social media trend of upselling one’s life, editing out the bad parts, but rather a focus on sharing the juicy details of life.  Invitation accepted: I’ll tell you something good, amazing even. Are you ready? Storytelling will save the world.  

It’s a bold statement, and maybe the initial premise of the world needing saving is up for discussion, but I stand behind it.  We need more connection and empathy.  More opportunities of trying on another’s life experience so we can make decisions that are for the good of everyone.  The world has gotten complicated as we consider global boundaries, or lack thereof, and technology everything (did you know your refrigerator can tell you if you are out of milk?).  Storytelling can help us to make an ever expanding and drifting world into a smaller and more (human) connected place.

There’s magic in telling, but the real secret sauce is in the listening. I went to my first storytelling event in 2018 when I was visiting my good friend Megan in D.C. and she asked if I’d want to join her an event called The Moth.  Being well versed in attending “random” events, I said yes.  Five tellers stood up and told true stories about their lives, and I remember being blown away by the fact I could never have guessed what words would come out of their mouths.  What’s more, I could see my own life and emotions in the experiences they shared, but when they first stood up I would not have guessed we had anything in common.  I was hooked, feeling entranced by the humanity on display from the audience and the tellers.  I was sure every person leaving that event was a little bit kinder and a little more open minded.  This is how I know storytelling is saving the world, one set of ears at a time.

I immediately began looking for storytelling events in Arizona and binging on storytelling podcasts for hours on end.  Somewhere around this time my good friend Amy told me about a storytelling teacher she knew of and gave me the name Doug Bland.  A quick Google search and within weeks I was signed up for my first storytelling class at South Mountain Community College. In my second semester now, I still want to pinch myself after every class, wondering at the luck of having a Storytelling Institute in my backyard.  My classmates span what I think is six decades in age and the full spectrum of “why” they signed up.  Each time they tell a story, I like to challenge myself to see if I could have guessed what words would come out of their mouth.  Most of the time, the answer is no.  And I call that something good, amazing even.

Comments

[Willie Mae Crosby]

Kate enjoyed your article storytelling is fun

[Marian Nance]

A wonderful testament for storytelling!