Click on the picture to jump to the Spring 2025 (Volume 4, Issue 1) or HERE.
We made it to March, yay! Yet we appear to be in a whirlwind of perpetual perturbations, natural disasters, and man-made challenges.
It seems almost as if we are in that future predicted by W.B. Yeat’s poem, The Second Coming:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world….
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
What can we do as artists and storytellers? What is our obligation? According to Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo of Eth-Noh-Tec, our charge as artists is to help people open their hearts. We need to humanize the other and draw out compassion. Throughout history, storytellers and artist have been tellers of truth. This reminds me of the Jewish teaching story of Truth and Story:
In the beginning Truth walked among people unclothed and unadorned. Whoever saw Truth, turned away in shame or fear, and gave her no welcome. Truth wandered through the world rebuffed and unwanted. She noticed in her travels, that Story walked a similar path, but unlike Truth, Story was welcomed wherever she went, adorned in her brightly-coloured clothes, speaking her lyrical language, and flashing her smile to all.
One day, Story came across Truth, naked and cold, huddling in the doorway of a ruined house. Truth explained that her nakedness frightened people, that she was unwelcome and unwanted. Story gathered her up and took her home. She dressed Truth in fine clothes, warmed her, and fed her. And from that time on, Truth and Story have traveled hand in hand. When they knock on doors, they are readily welcomed in, invited to dine at the table, and warm themselves by the fire.
Story does not tell people what to do. It invites folks to come to their own conclusions. It is one of the most respectful ways to share knowledge, wisdom, and truth. What we can do is to do what we do best — tell the truth wrapped in story. Our actions do not have to be large or grandiose. It can simply be part of what we do every day — telling stories with intention and conviction. Facts do not change people’s minds. Feelings do. We can help folks feel more compassion for the other.
The Story Beast is your quarterly e-Publication forum and is a place of community. Please share your creative works — poems, stories, artwork, or articles — with us and tell your friends about us. Let us know what you think and send your contributed works to storybeasteditor@gmail.com.
The deadline for contributions for the next issue of The Story Beast is May 15 for the Summer 2025 issue. The Summer issue’s theme is Sizzling Splendor. Thanks for reading and remember that truth wrapped in story is a beautiful thing, easy to accept, and love.
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