Stories

[penmage]

A question for all of you:

Why are stories important?

I know why stories are important to me, I know why I think that if I was cut off from stories it would be like being cut off from oxygen. But why are stories important to you? I'm talking about stories of all kinds here, written, unwritten, in any media. Why are stories important? Why are they important to you, why are they important to the world, why are they important in general?

Comments

[jaenanda.livejournal.com]

Stories are important because they provide a framework for our existence. They provoke objectivity and remind us that there is more to this life than simply the moment we are walking through.

Through stories, we remember the past, envision the future, and fully savor the present. Without stories, we'd have no wisdom to draw from, no hope to aspire to, no indication that the bleakness we are feeling might not be lasting.

Because of stories, we reach out to people byond our own selves, because stories allow us to relate to other people in ways and means we might otherwise never approach. Because of stories, we can learn from the mistakes of other, whether real or fictional, and prevent the reoccurance of tragedy, or at least know that we walked into out own fate not caught unawares.

That's what stories are for, really. And that's why they're necessary, and that's why we write them and read them and share them and celebrate them. Because stories, combined, tell us about us.