My friend and mentor sent me this article: As libraries become cultural hubs, TEDx events bring the community in. I have considered hosting a TEDx at the library, but right now it is the formative stage.
After reading the article, I began to ponder why I am so drawn to TED Talks. I let that roll around in my brain for a bit and then suddenly I had an epiphany: TED Talkers are our modern storytellers.
I love hearing stories and storytelling. In fact, I believe that stories are vital to our humanity. I am certainly not my hero Joseph Campbell. But I do believe that humans created stories to make sense of the world and that those motifs that are important to us as humans can be found in stories around the world. For example, the Cinderella story can be found in innumerable cultures around the world. I believe that Cinderella story is primarily a woman's story. Cinderella, as women often are, is told that she should not aspire to more in life. She is told that her role has been determined and she should learn to live within the confines of it. She is told that she is destined to be a servant of others. But with the help--particularly that of a mentor (fairy godmother)--she is able to achieve what she only dreamed of, she becomes more than even she thought possible. Cinderella stories also also tell us that life is not always fair--events happen that we don't have control over. But we have control over how we respond to these circumstances and if we remain true to ourselves, continue to have hope, faith and perseverance and cultivate a mentoring relationship eventually the balance will shift. When it does we need to remember the compassion that we would have enjoyed during our darkest hours. And we need to give back to others what we have received. Each year, I host two Mother Daughter Teas. During the Tea, I always tell my story of a mother that always took time to show her tomboy of a daughter how beautiful the world can be. I tell the story that I host the teas in her honor and that by sharing the planning of them with her, she is with me.
I also explain the importance of storytelling and encourage the mothers and daughters to share their own stories with each other. I explain that through stories we learn to bridge the divide from being a Homo Sapien to becoming a human (OK so I don't use those exact words during the Tea). Afterwards, I share several themed stories from around the world. This year the theme was Flight of Fancy. I felt compelled to create an updated version of the Cinderella story. In my story Estrella Starcatcher is my heroine. She lives in kingdom perhaps not so far away where women are not allowed to learn--their roles are limited to wife, mother and housekeeper. Estrella yearns to learn. In the end after she learns from nature--a queen bee shares her secrets as does a queen ant she is able to become an architect designing a revitalized kingdown that is soon to become enlightened. She works with a master builder who changed the tide of public opinion by being able to see past her womaness and realized her talent and potential. When I finish the stories, I tell the audience is endanger of falling by the wayside--or so I thought. I now have renewed hope. With TED Talks and TEDx Events, storytelling is alive and well. The number of people in audience of TED Talks and the growing number of TEDx Events around the world, demonstrates the need people have for hearing stories that can teach us to be the better part of our dual natures. “As technology becomes more and more prevalent in our daily lives, it’s easier and easier for us to only interact with people who think like us,” says Barr. “For our democracy and our way of life to function, we need to develop skills of compromise and consensus building by working with people — thinking with people, talking with people — that are a little out of our comfort zone.” " In my opinion this is the role that storytelling has always played in our (humanity's) lives. The world is a better place when we tell stories so that we can learn compassion as well as how to recognize the wolf and the witch--especially those within us. What a pleasing Ahh-ha moment this was.