Often I will awaken after midnight and have a difficult time returning to sleep.  One of the methods I use to lull myself is to turn on the radio, low enough that it doesn’t disturb my husband, but high enough I can listen if I want to.  One very early morning this week, I was treated to New Dimensions, a program I have followed over many years.  This interview was hosted by Justine Willis Toms and featured Michael Meade, a scholar of mythology and acclaimed storyteller, of whom I was unaware.  As I listened, some of his explanations resonated deeply with me.  Today I was able to listen to the interview on the New Dimensions website.

There were many facets of this conversation that I found enlightening; the definition of apocalypse (a period of chaos and creation) and end, (loose end, the remnant where things begin again).   Meade explained that humans walk along shorelines to make decisions, because it is the place where change occurs, the betwixt and between.  I love that.  And the one gem that prompted me to review the tape more than once is how he understands the importance of stories.  “Relationship is built on sharing deeper aspects of the story.  We are narrative beings and part of our creativity comes from finding out where in the story we belong.”

This idea confirms my comfort that I am right where I should be; part facilitator, part interpreter, and primarily scribe of my father’s story and that of his father.