story(commentary)time!

I just noticed in one of the yoga textbooks I've been reading that there've been a few stories that aren't the common traditional or apocryphal tales-of-yore, but involve more modern 'characters' and contexts. That's not to say it's referring to some specific person I could google or something, but I was surprised to note, for example a character who was referred to simply as 'an American,' with some attending connotations but thankfully no reliance on over the top stereotyping. Long story short, as it were, it was interesting to see that a useful story didn't have to be something out of antiquity, but could just as easily occur in contemporary times; it seems reassuring in some small sense.

Sidenotewise to that, I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I think stories and anecdotes are a wonderful way to learn. Hell, look at Jesus and his parables...and yes, I am aware of the 'balance' in that syntax, thank you. But anyway, not only do they make the information more interesting to hear, but perhaps also easier to retain as it's not just a cold, dead fact or sterile idea, but a story that can become alive with characters and meaning that actually matters to them. Once I was accused of turning conversations around to talk about my self and my friends and family and my work, etc, basically of being egotistical, and oof, did it hurt at first, and I clammed up about any of those things for while. But after a lot of self-checking, I think a lot of it was telling stories and anecdotes out of my experience (what else am I going to base my stories on - purely other people's stories, or just synopsizing movies?), because I love storytelling and hearing stories and learning from people in that regard. But I get so excited I think I would sometimes end up seemingly just talking about myself or my relations a lot, because I want to share in the goodness of...well, sharing. So from that point I resolved to better make sure I was getting stories out of the people I'm having palaver with. So, in the end, I think I just gained another long-term benefit out of the issue in that insurance that I get to learn. Woo!

And just because we've been tossing around JC lately (heh, not ass-backwards but Jesus-backwards, don't make an ass out of Jesus...), a shout-out to the wonderful Sinfest

Stormwatch PHD - certified