An Important Story
At this point, the individual was sifting through the old box, and she slowly and surely realized how important storytelling is in preserving our history. Photographs, letters, and trinkets that were just drenched physical objects turned out to be pieces of a larger narrative. Every piece of stuff inside that box has a story about some lives of people who once loved them. Everything was summed up in these inconspicuous things: family ties, relationships, and milestones. And when all these things were discovered, then that person was presented with this rare opportunity to reconstruct a tale lost to the ages.
In today’s speedy world, we neglect storytelling. We are in a time when things happen quickly and in real-time; where digital communication and social media reign over people. But these material objects, whether photographs or letters, tell stories which take time and reflection to understand. The act of sharing stories-through words or more literally in material form-keeps memories alive and preserves the lives of the past for future generations. These items in a box reminded me that storytelling doesn’t just go by words; it goes by reminding people of moments in time and sharing them in really meaningful ways.
This made the individual think about their own personal storytelling. How would they tell their own story? What items and experiences do they want to pass on to the next generation? They realized, actually, that they, too, had a responsibility: the responsibility to share their own stories, to preserve the memories which most mattered, and to ensure that their very own narrative would be carried forward. “Like the items in the box,” they said, their own life was full of meaning, worth telling.
