Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about storytelling and the different ways we tell and communicate our stories with the world. We live in super exciting times and can tell stories in many different ways using a variety of tools. The beauty of storytelling is that every one of us may tell the same story differently, adding personal spin and personal touch to every spoke, written or visual word.

I wanted to tell stories and to travel since I was seven. I even packed up my small travelling bag (a plastic, colourful bag, which I treasured dearly since communist Poland didn’t have many of those); I took a notebook, a pencil, and a passport, which I made for myself on my imaginary travels. Already back then I knew I was going to aim for a minimalistic lifestyle. As a child, I didn’t really know that I longed for the freedom to do whatever I wanted to do and whenever I wanted to do it and associated travelling and writing with freedom, which we didn’t have back then. And I guess I still do.

We all tell stories one way or another; we collect them in our memories and pass them on to the next generation. Some stories live on, some don’t. Thanks to our ability to tell the stories our lives are filled with them. We teach our children how to tell the stories, we read to them, allow them to watch movies and listen to their own real or made up stories.

Stories and storytelling are not only profoundly embodied in our culture but also in our bodies. Our bodies and souls remember stories from long ago; we react to emotional or scary stories. In short, we are creatures of stories and storytelling.

I wish our western culture would be more appreciative of the storytellers that try to carry on the tradition of storytelling,

I wish stories were treasured more, not only created for amusement and entertainment,

I wish we could all gather around a fire on the warm summer evening and tell and listen to stories,

I wish the older generation had an outlet to share their stories with the younger generation,

I wish the younger people would take notice of the stories their grandparents try to tell them,

I wish people would listen and learn from stories,

I wish that we all accept that storytelling makes our lives exciting and sharing stories with others is an act of bravery,

I wish we could accept that storytelling lives in our bodies, inhabits our DNA and allows us to be who we truly should be.

Allow your story flow through your body and soul and enjoy the journey.