Everything is a Story!
Imagine my delight when my friend Kaitlin Curtice asked if I would write the foreword to her new book. What an honor, right?
Well, the big day is now here. Kaitlin’s book—Everything is a Story—is officially out!
Kaitlin generously offered to answer some questions about the book and why she wrote it. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you order the book. You won’t regret it :)
What do you mean by the title? Is Everything really a story? And if so, what are the implications of that?
In exploring the narratives around me, researching for, and writing this book, I have definitely come to the conclusion that stories are everywhere. This was actually one of the original titles of the book, and I am really glad it’s what we ended up coming back to, because yes, stories really are everywhere. Everything around us, whether manufactured or part of nature, whether personal or from our collective consciousness, was somehow affected by a story. You could look around the room you’re in right now and begin asking questions of anything around you, and there’s a story behind it. That’s powerful, and it means we need to be paying attention to the world we are part of creating.
What do we miss when we don’t think of the stories all around us?
When we don’t think of the stories that are all around us, we miss out on both the beauty and the danger. If we aren’t paying attention to the power that stories have in the world, they will pass us by, outgrow us. If we are paying attention, we will see that stories are very real, and when we lean into them and engage with them, we are respecting their power.
What can we do to become better storytellers?
There is this T.S. Eliot quote that I love: We must be still and still moving into another intensity.
This means that as we live our lives, as we go about our daily rhythms, we are also paying attention. There is always a deeper reality hidden under the realities we are aware of. So, make meaning of your life. Look for the metaphors and the hidden meanings. Pay attention to your dreams. If you’re an artist, ask what kind of medicine you’re creating with that art. Let your life be one that pays attention to what isn’t easily seen. I think that’s how we become better storytellers. Be still, but also, keep moving.
Is listening to other stories part of the equation too? How can we improve on our own storytelling?
When I write my books (Everything Is a Story is my fourth book), I read at least thirty books, and I always feel like I’m drawing from the wisdom wells of these other writers. And as I quote them, I hope that readers will go read their books, too, that we are creating a web of wisdom and story-sharing. It is essential that we listen to the stories of others, that we lean into them, that we ask questions of them. That is how we become better tellers of our own stories. We learn, and that learning can take years, patience; it’s what’s so beautiful about oral storytelling traditions, those stories are meant to last generations, to change and transform with those who tell them. I think we should carry that energy into our storytelling.
