Myths are a vital part of a society’s glue. They help define who we are and who we are not, where we came from, and maybe where we’re going.
I’m Australian, but not First Nations. I grew up with a very limited understanding of the stories, the myths, that created our land for thousands of years. The Rainbow Serpent might have been my first introduction to the Dreaming.
Storytellers retell old stories. Sometimes they’re myths or support myths. Sometimes they’re family-bonding memories.
Little children often force us to re-read the same book every night because there is comfort in familiar stories. They are a shelter.
Sometimes I wonder if one of the most radical acts of defiance is to retell old stories, holding steady to their truth while the world is in tumult.
The stories we tell reveal our values and define who we become.
Comments
4 responses to “Storytellers as Retellers”
Reposted to my FB page.
I’m glad the post resonated with you, Virginia. And THANK YOU for sharing it 🙂
I think that retelling old stories dressed in new clothes is essential to remember who we are. Centuries and technology changed everything and we are forgetting who we are. Shedding beliefs while reading a story is easily done, putting oneself into the character is very helpful in remembering the wrong from the right. You are a very good story teller and your morals are on display. There are other authors who I cannot read as their morals are very questionable, unfortunately they are not fiction and people take their gibberish as truth. The X files had it wrong. The truth isn’t out there – it is within.
Karen, you sent a shiver down my spine with “The truth isn’t out there – it is within.” Profoundly true, and something that the media cycle and our busy lives drowns out. I’m glad my books are a safe space for you and others. For me, too, they are a place where the struggles are definitely grounded in hope, a belief that the oldest stories had it right and we can reach out and hold each other up and build a world that values doing so.