Article: Storytime
The following text is also published on my personal blog Samhildánach. It is my take on masculinity, using Andrew Tate and woke as the extremes between a balanced and awesome middle field can be found.
The original post (with proper layout & pictures can be found here)
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Once upon a time I listened to the Sacred Sons podcast that had dr. Martin Shaw as a guest. This man, a mythologist, is sometimes described as a master storyteller and I can see why. He sometimes tells stories that last for a couple of days!
Well, the podcast didn’t last that long, but in it the importance of storytelling was emphasised, and this greatly appealed to me. I love stories; both observing them and telling them.
But I faced one great insecurity, and that is that I usually don’t have a great intuition (yet?) in identifying all symbolic elements and interpreting the deeper meaning of stories (although I’m still happy about the Samhildánach piece I once wrote on midwinter and the meaning of the story of Lúgh/”Samhildánach”). But Martin Shaw stated that immediately trying to explain every detail from a story often ruins it, and that in his view it is much better to absorb a story in all its beauty and ambiguity. It’s deeper meaning might seep through in our lives or dreams at some point eventually.
I also loved how he accounted of telling his daughter stories unto the point when she grew older and didn’t want to listen anymore – until she got to the age where she started to fully appreciate all of them.
Father tells
So, as a father, I had long ago felt that it was important to convey many stories to my children. I have often told them all the stories I know by heart and read them many others. I’d wish for them to live in a world that is still enchanted and in which beauty and meaning can be found.
At daytime they are too busy playing to sit down and listen. But when they are in bed and about to sleep, they are very eager to hear a story. And I deeply enjoy sharing this liminal moment with them between sleep and awake. It also makes me fondly remember how my own father read me stories each night.
We have piles and piles of (children’s) books but what I most enjoy is reading them lesser known fairy tales and legends about knights.
Teacher tells
As a teacher, I tell stories every week to my young ones (twelve to thirteen year-olds). Mostly myths and fairy tales from all over the world. They really like it and ask for them at the start of every class. Ideally, I’d build a campfire but the best I can do in a modern classroom is dimming the lights. Because stories tend to be received better in a more mysterious setting.
I also like to introduce the children to the hero’s journey. This concept had been introduced by Jospeh Cambell, whose work had been instrumental in the writing of my bachelor thesis about goddesses of love and war. (I actually decided to choose Religious Studies because I liked myth so much) I make the students discover the pattern in movies such as Vaiana (I even wrote an award-winning article about that in Narthex, the trade journal for Religious Education teachers – contact me if you’d like to learn more about that). And I have them tell their own stories too. Sometimes they treat me to a serious piece of art!
I also allow them to use various means of storytelling. They can write texts, create videos, organise plays, draw comics… And I tell them about other ways in which people can tell stories, such as Netflix series and computer games. Even though I need to be very wary not to get addicted, I hugely enjoy the stories being told in many games such as The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed or The Elder Scrolls.
Story of my life
Sometimes people say they want to be the hero in the story of their own life. I like that thought, although I must admit I find it very difficult to maintain that perspective when stuck in the drudgery of doing chores, having to do a lot of administrative tasks or just when I’m wasting time without being aware of it.
Still, I try to journal every day. When I have limited time, I just note key events. But sometimes I take the time to be more elaborate and then I’m telling myself the story of my life in a worthy way.
A while ago when I was hosting the Rise a Knight event for Wild and Sacred Men, and I suddenly thought of telling a knightly story; the one about Gawain and the Green Knight. I told the men it could be interpreted by everyone in all different sort of manners, and that we wouldn’t go into explaining anything. Just listen and enjoy. The story will or will not make sense in due time.
I’d like to conclude this writing with a video of Martin Shaw in action. I watched just before winter break and told this story a few times to the students at school. And now I allow this storyteller to share the story with you too, dear reader.
Video
