THE ART OF STORYTELLING

"Now you know the rest of the story."

~Paul Harvey 

I love stories. The most engaging speakers and communicators are masters at teaching through the use of stories.

The same well-crafted story can hold meaning simple enough for a child to understand or complex enough to challenge adults. Jesus did this often with His use of parables.

StoryCorps is an interesting website. Below is the description from their website:

StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 30,000 interviews from more than 60,000 participants. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share, and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, and millions listen to our weekly broadcasts on NPR’s Morning Edition and on our Listen pages.

We do this to remind one another of our shared humanity, strengthen and build the connections between people, teach the value of listening, and weave into the fabric of our culture the understanding that every life matters. At the same time, we will create an invaluable archive of American voices and wisdom for future generations.

In addition to loving stories, I love kids. I have the great fortune of working each and every day with second and third graders as the assistant principal at an elementary school. If you want to fill your heart with joy, spend a day with elementary kids.

I ran across the video below on StoryCorps a while back and wanted to share. As the notes on YouTube explain, ”Joshua Littman, a 12-year-old boy with Asperger’s syndrome, interviews his mother, Sarah. Joshua’s unique questions and Sarah’s loving, unguarded answers reveal a beautiful relationship that reminds us of the best – and the most challenging – parts of being a parent.”

This is a touching and uplifting 4-minute video.

 

QUESTION: What is one of your favorite childhood stories? Please leave comments below.