Stories are the glue that give our disjointed experiences of life meaning. As humans we search for meaning, for cause and effect, for reason, for patterns; we want to believe that if we do something there will be a predictable and rational response. Say you throw a rock at someone; a reasonable response would be for that person to yell at you. Predictable, right? But sometimes life gives you the unexpected. What if, instead of yelling, the person physically attacked you? Or what if that person forgave you and gave you a tract on forgiveness? Or what if that person ignored you? Or what if that person transformed into a monster and tried to eat you? We try to control what will happen to us through our actions, but there’s no way that any one person can foresee all possible results. That is why stories are so fascinating.
A good author will take a concept that is very simple and explore it in a way that you may not have considered. I have found Patricia Wrede to be a perfect example of this. Everyone “knows” that princesses are captured by dragons and wait to be rescued. But what if the princess volunteers to work for the dragon, and doesn’t need rescuing at all? In The Enchanted Forest Chronicles she explored the thought of tradition being shaken all out of shape. Through stories we can imagine consequences, both good and bad, that might lay down any particular path. Would aliens be good or bad, if they came to Earth? How would people behave if the world were ending? What would the world be like if children could be grown in test tubes? There are even stories that explore how different actions in the exact same situation lead to different results, like the movies Groundhog Day and Run Lola Run. Things that were unthinkable even fifty years ago are now reality; it’s important to explore the implications of new technology, new ideas, new challenges, new advantages. The world’s population is now higher than it has ever been. We can talk to people on the opposite side of the earth instantaneously and for free. We have sent a robot to explore Mars! We do things today that people have literally only dreamed of in the past. What we dream today could be our reality in another fifty years – or less.
The basic foundation of life is that it is dynamic. What you do today to get a certain result may give you a completely different result tomorrow; people are inconsistent creatures and will not always stay the same. We can try to control our situation, but it is far more effective to be flexible, aware of how life is constantly in flux, and ready to adjust to whatever happens next. Life is an adventure, and we are all the protagonist in our own story. I recommend taking time to read, to watch, to think; to experience situations not only through your own narrow perception but through the imaginations of gifted writers and storytellers who can give you new tools with which you can impact the world. After all, you don’t know whether hucking that rock will lead to a happy ending – or to a were-bear nibbling on your adrenals. May your own story be the best it can possibly be, with one or two twists thrown in just to keep things interesting!