Storytelling as a tradition dates as far back as 30,000 years. Then, it was only the cave paintings that were used to tell narratives or situations about the lives of people during these primitive times. We, as a society, have evolved a lot since then, and so has our literary tradition. From the oral tradition to written tradition, the way we tell our stories has changed a lot. The subject matter to our stories has also become very ambitious and grand.
We talked of the great wars happening and the great characters living among us back then, but now we tell stories about fantastical worlds and those where we colonize space and fight intergalactic battles. Our literary tradition has undergone seismic shifts and still does. Indeed, the world changes every decade due to the nature of globalization and so do our stories. But, despite these changes in scope and ambition, there is one significant thing that still remains consistent with stories throughout the years. That is the ability of stories to impart wisdom into the people who read or listen to them.
Reading a non-fiction novel today, or studying science or medicine may give a person knowledge and intelligence, but it's the lived experiences, the mistakes and the wrongdoings that give us wisdom. Whether it is the stories about the lives of people in an ancient civilization or the ones on a hostile planet, stories seem to find a way to teach us many great lessons. The reason, why stories are so successful in doing so is because of the fact that they are an emulation of lived and shared experiences. It does not matter if the experience is a believable one in our own cities or a totally fantastical one in a world not our own. One does not need a wizard like Gandalf to exist, to learn about the importance a wise-old mentor.
Fiction also acts as a brilliant way for the authors to use extraordinary things to provide commentary about the rather mundane things happening in our life. Some of the best and most fantastical stories have taught us many great lessons about our own world and our own life. Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien on the surface, seems like a grand adventure story happening in a fictional world very different from our own, but upon a deeper read, one can truly gain immense wisdom about the things Tolkien alluded to.
He uses this masterpiece to talk about the detachment of humans from nature, the need to protect it and how our activities actively harm the beauty of it. The ring acts as a wonderful metaphor for power and corruption, and the fellowship as a symbol of friendship, hope and resilience under insurmountable odds. A person who actively reads stories, can find immense depth and wonder in their favorite story.
Stories will be told for centuries and will continue to give us many new experiences and the wisdom to deal with the problems that we face in our own lives. The best that we can do as lovers of storytelling is to read more and listen to more and more stories. Not only do they act as a wonderful source of entertainment, but they may end up teaching us the lessons that we need to learn and the flaws that we need to overcome.