The Powers That Be. Storytellers.

Creator: Moretto da Brescia (1498–1554) | Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Many wonder, “What makes for true power?”

It is in our nature to compete with others’ ambitions, sometimes overtly, sometimes implicitly. And often, we lean on the usual suspects:

Money. Political capital. Sex. Fame.

Most of us are oblivious to one immutable fact, however: there is something else out there. Something we crave, something we feel strongly about—a performance that leaves us spellbound, triggers impossible dreams, and coerces us into accomplishing the greatest feats in this circus that is life…

Storytelling.

Words. Double-entendres. Calls to action. Analogies. Allegories. Characters. Worlds. Births. Deaths. Cons.

All of life is encapsulated in tales. Storytelling is at the very core of our humanity.

From primitive barters to complex sales pitches. From deadly altercations to search-and-rescue operations. From pain to healing. From stagnation to growth.

Right. So what happens when you hold the key to strong storytelling abilities?

You’re no god. But you are closer to self-fulfillment, to a life worth living and writing about.

You are the ferryman who charges a fee for safe passage. You are the orator and the people’s advocate. The one who is heard and cared for. Words are the lethal means that spearhead your campaigns.

As a writer or a storyteller, you are very powerful. Many love you. Others fear you.

But what am I rambling about? Or implying?

Nothing somber. No ego or power trip. No narcissistic tangent.

What I’m getting at is that YOU carry certain responsibilities.

Gustave Flaubert made a very powerful statement in his time:

“It is splendid to be a great writer, to put men into the frying pan of your imagination and make them pop like chestnuts.”

You have a moral obligation as a storyteller: to employ your skills for the greater good. To make a difference at any level. To become an agent of change within the figurative and literal biodome of your communities.

Cherish that gift. Hone it. Protect it.

You are TRUE power.