Oldest Profession?

Recently someone mentioned to me that they thought Storytelling was the oldest profession known to man as opposed to what is normally called the "oldest profession". I suspect we will never know for sure but before the written word stoytellers and bards were some of the most revered members of a community. Another person listening to this exchange shared with us a story of an invasion in Ireland. The first thing the conquerors did was round up the storytellers, bards and troubadours and killed them! Why? Because they knew that these people were truly the ones who preserved the culture and tradition of the Irish. If they wanted to assimilate them they needed to get rid of the reminders of the Irish culture.

Are you passing on your culture and family traditions to your children? Tell stories, keep your family alive.

Everyone Has a Story

Did you ever wonder why blogging is huge, why YouTube is taking off and why Facebook is not just for kids anymore? In this humble spider's opinion it is because we all have a story to tell and are looking for people to listen and connect with. We choose to tell our stories in different ways but the most generous thing you can do for another is listen to his/her story. So, this week quiet your mind for a bit and listen to a loved one, friend or even an acquaintance. I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised by what you her.

Remembering and Connecting

Liven up any party or family gathering by telling a few stories involving the guest of honor. Stories are great for conneting generations. The younger generations get to find out what life was like back "when" and more about "where" they come from. Older generations can set examples for how to tellinteresting stories.

Stories, video games and Education

Two years ago the National Storytelling Conference held a panel discussion on how stories can be incorporated into video games to help educate. The following link is an amazing example of how story and a video game are being used in a college course to help students learn the concepts of economics. Video games often get a bad wrap but maybe if they are used right.......



Here is the link

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6342324



Play on!



Anansi

One Man's take on story

Wow, I just finished watching the Randy Pausch story. For those of you who haven't heard, he is a college professor who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Apparently the cancer is usually diagnosed very late and the survival rate is very low. He has beaten the odds at this point.

There are many amazing things about the man including "The Last Lecture", now a book, a truly moving speech made as his last lecture at Carneige Melon in Pittsburgh. During the last lecture one thing really caught my attention. He said "Don't tell people how to live their lives, tell them stories and they'll figure it out." The Native American and African cultures have lived by that motto for a long time. Give people a lesson in a story, let them figure it out and then they own it and are willing to do the right thing.

Thank you Randy for a reminder of what is really important in life.