Anyone who knows me understands my unabashed transfixation with the art of storytelling. From books to art to cinema, I find people’s various expressions of life to be a tender message of from a heart. For a good story to be told, there is obviously more than just a few simple components. Large words and mesmerizing detail is but an artful distraction from what is truly means to tell a story. To experience a masterpiece one thing must subtly resound throughout the entire narrative–authenticity. Every story has a responsibility to provoke just as every consumer has a responsibility to be critically and open-mindedly thinking. Art without depth is simply a cacophony of distraction. However, partnered with something to grip, a meaning to latch onto; it is one of our greatest storytellers.

Psychology and the study of human pattern can only take us so far in how we face problems, personal experience is something quite different. When we learn to share our lives, not through study or academic conversation but through stories, we begin to add a dimension of color to our problems which just might be enough to help us see. So in this way, I encourage listening to stories just as much as I suggest sharing your own; it is the footstool to learning. The art of a story is that it does something more than simply put flesh on words. Stories draw a human into the pulse of a word, not just their objective meaning but their concerted synergy of an overarching narrative. In a story, words are not just words but fragments of a message. Consumed in doses and you forget the reason they exist; but brought together in a meaningful story and you discover that they possess something transcendent. This is why it is so important to pay close attention to their pattern, no matter what the medium. Film, art, music, literature, conversations all have the implicit advantage of accomplishing transcendent truth if you pay close enough attention. Without that careful engagement to the storyteller’s message, you deprive a story of its depth and render each word impediment. All art is a deeply impassioned teacher which demands focus, compromise, and an ear for what is being told. The process of giving and receiving a story is a gift; drawing us nearer to the artist and creating a connection that alleviates our self-induced stress. Usually navigating a story requires vulnerability, a natural byproduct of an honest conversation. But when I say “conversation” I mean that with a liberal definition. One can have a conversation with any of the mediums I spoke of above, as long as there is a mutual engagement and open-mindedness. Between these parties, the storyteller and the consumer, we very quickly find ourselves confessing brokennesses and abiding in something closer to truth.

With this in mind, I find this to be the greatest quality of artful storytelling- its unparalleled ability to make a mind see words. You paint a picture in whatever medium you choose, poised photography to articulate oration. What I believe makes the story so powerful is its ability to present an observer with both the message and the soul of its teller. You see, a good story is neither pure content or aestheticism, it is a conflict of dialogue which climatically draws us closer to reality. Therefore, as a consumer you must not pay close attention to the dichotomy of storytelling, it’s package being just as important as its content. Take an artist such as Michelangelo. In its Sistine Chapel, the Catholic cardinals who oversaw his work took great concern of his scrupulous fresco of “The Last Judgement” featured in exquisite detail over the entirety of the altar wall. After procuring the contract, M. began articulating one of the most absorbent pieces of western art the world has yet seen. However, the depth of the art is not in its pain-staking artistic composition but the delivery of a message that was then seen as insubordinate and novel. M. painted something personal, a manifested relationship he had with his faith, not the Holy Catholic Church. Through this artistic magnum opus, the consumer sees the religious strife and conflicted theology mixed with a devout and skillful attention to his craft that recognizes a masterful message. In art such as this, one stares at a fresco and understands a soul and, if they pay close enough attention, its ability to speak. Similarly, in a more modern example the composer John Williams has scored some of the most marveling and awarded cinematic experiences the industry has ever seen. However, what gave J. a life-time achievement award and monumented position in modern music history is his unique expression of art. Although a gifted composer, he chose to partner his pieces with the visual craftsmanship of men such as Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas. For many, this may be seen as somewhat damaging to his work, but through J’s pioneering scores, he has illuminated a new niche in the path of music. Through his influence, we have seen that film and music are companions, preserving each other through a powerful union of compliment, compromise, and a collaboration of message.

Beyond all this, there is a constant tension between the storyteller and the consumer, each begging for narrative and meaning. The beautiful and transcendent virtue of this art form is that it necessitates the vulnerability of both to accomplish its duty of truth. To illuminate art is to see its story, from opening exposition to lucid denouement. Without giving it the demanded attention it deserves, we are simply speaking silent words. For us to carefully craft stories and listen to another’s narrative, we must engage them vulnerably and with credible authenticity. Being a part of successful of a world where there is more than just words to convey lessons is an unwoken gift for many. Be a part of a personal revolution to evaluate stories carefully, paying close attention to both their content and package. Understand the teller well enough to see past the pictures flesh and into its soul. It is a practiced talent, but it yields a personal benefit far more than a thousand fragmented words. In all, stories are a punctuation to learning. Sharing them. Listening to them. Being apart of their narrative allows us a fresh new look into experiencing a deeper challenge of communal growth, invariably bringing us two steps closer to personal reality.