Storytelling and Self Discovery

by Mark G. Adams

Storytelling has been a primary way of transferring knowledge and wisdom to each new generation for as long as human beings have existed. Whether as simple as a boy who cried wolf, or as mysterious as a great teacher who led his students into a heaven-on-earth, storytelling has helped us understand the world around us, our relationship with the universe, and the purpose of this amazing gift of life.

 For thousands of years live theater has provided a wonderful stage for storytelling, where we’ve gathered to perform and enjoy plays that thrill us, make us laugh or cry, and help us reflect upon our lives. Theater productions, and now cinema, provide an escape from the humdrum of our daily routines while taking us on emotion filled adventures that excite, uplift, inspire, and hopefully, expand our knowledge.

Yet how many of us realize that the greatest of all adventures is our very own life? I see this world as our stage; every one of us is the lead actor or actress in our own play. We can also be the screenwriter and director of our personal production, free to create the script of our choosing, even while some will try to convince us this is not possible. It is up to each of us to realize how we can pen the acts of our lives to fulfill our greatest potential.

All plays have two things in common, an opening scene and a final curtain. It’s what happens in between that matters. Meanwhile, our lives are inexplicably rigged. Everyone has total amnesia regarding where we came from before our opening scene, and we’ve no idea what happens after we’ve taken our last breath. What might this reality tell us?

Clearly the answers we are looking for, the peace and contentment we long for, the wisdom we seek, must be found now, in this lifetime. Could it also be true that the heaven many of us hope to go to after we die is actually meant to be discovered in this lifetime as well? I can assure you from personal experience that heaven exists. The secret to its discovery lies in the moment, waiting for you to seek it out while you’re still here in this world. Seeking out and finding heaven on earth is the ultimate adventure, and most sacred of all plotlines.