It is so much more enlightening for us to expose ourselves
to as many different stories as we can about people, places and things we are
interested in because only then will we become more balanced in our views about
them. Often times we are fed information from a single source and we have no
idea what the agenda is of that source. We have no idea what the motives are of
that source but we fall for what they tell us hook , line and sinker causing us
to form ideas and impressions about something, someone or somewhere without us
having the benefit of the many stories that form them.
Listening to Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche took me back to a realization,
an epiphany I reached after writing my book, Held Captive, that history is
based on the perspective of everyone living in that time period. Therefore
there are no wrong or right stories because they are all based on the people
living during that time and the perceptions they have of the lives they are living.
I realised how powerful it is to be a storyteller because storytellers can
dictate the perceptions of those who read their stories. Can sway people in
ways they never knew they could be swayed.
Storytellers can influence people very easily. That is why it is so important for us to understand, just because someone tells
us something is true, if it does not resonate with us, it may not be true from
our perspective because we are all living different stories - even if we are
living in the same place at the same time. We are all exposed to different aspects
of life and as a result our experience will be dictated by what we have been
exposed to which may be very different from someone who grew up with us.
And that is why it is so dangerous for us to form impressions about people, places and things just because someone tells us so. Even if that someone
is a person of authority because there are so many different stories to every
existence. Think about our lives and the people, places and things that have
come and gone. The people, places and things we have experienced that make up
our story. Can we say that these people, places and things mean the same to us
now as they did at a certain point in our lives? Probably not so how can we be
painted by a single brush? Defined by a single story? How can we be defined by anything or anyone
when our stories are changing and developing every single second of every
single day.
Therefore in some ways we are experts at nothing because
nothing remains stagnant. Everything changes all the time. People come and
people go. Places change. Stories change as do we therefore it is very myopic
for us to believe in a single story because we are all products of many stories
from many different perspectives. Consequently we should not judge anyone,
anything or any place until we have experienced it for ourselves and even then it
is truly only our story. Our story that may not be the same as her story or his
story because there are so many different variables to the way we live.
I love how Chimamanda’s talk is introduced on Tex talks as
they say. “Our lives, our cultures are composed of many overlapping stories.” There
is no one story that defines our lives
Chimamanda finished
her talk by stating, “Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been
used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also been used to empower and
to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people but stories can also be
used to repair that broken dignity… When we reject the single story. When we realize
that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind paradise.”
I would like to extend this to not just any place but to any person and any
thing because when we do, we understand the beauty of everyone, every thing and
every place. We understand the myriad of paths we take, the overlapping stores
that connected us to each other and the diversity that adds to the colour of
the lives we lead.
There is no single story because we are not a single story.
We are a combination of many different stories. Of many different origins. And when we understand we all have a place in this world with our many different stories, we will accept others do as well and there is no need for xenophobia or prejudice. How
beautiful and liberating is the thought that we are products of many different stories…
Link to Chimamanda's talk for your convenience. Well worth listening to http://on.ted.com/h0Ipg
No comments:
Post a Comment