"The king asked the storyteller to recount the title of those tales that he remembered. And so he recounted the titles of all the prime tales of Ireland that he was able to narrate."
___ fifteenth-century Gaelic manuscript (trans. CM)
When Jeremiah Curtain collected stories in Ireland at the end of the nineteenth century, he met an old woman who fell ill and had to be taken to the hospital in Munster. She told him that she attributed her illness to the fact that she had told stories in the daytime. There is something magical and mythical about the power of the story within many traditions worldwide that can be discussed only when it is dark or when it is wintertime. This tradition implies that the recitation of a story causes its power to be released, and that this power has to be carefully controlled if one reality is not to invade another.
The magic of the story is everywhere acclaimed as healing and transforming. The power of story to change us and bring us to the brink of self-forgetfulness and wonder is a gift beyond measure. However, if we truly believe in the power of story, it is important that we find appropriate stories for our condition and that they are told at times when we are most receptive to (an therefore most respectful of) their power. We each participate in a greater story than appears in any book, film, or recording: the story that is telling us is more important than the story we are telling. It is unwritten and sometimes unheard by us, but it runs throughout our lives with an authoritative voice that we need to listen for. It is in periods of receptive silence and listening that this story becomes apparent.
"Meditate upon your own story. What themes, protagonists, patterns and cycle can you perceive?"
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]
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