Storytelling

We are hardly the most important, significant, or successful species on the planet. Even the most triumphant of human achievements is diminished in the context of life’s history on Earth. Our achievements as a species are part of what makes us unique–as can be said for every other species–but these do nothing in our self-designation as the dominant form of life on the planet.

Instead, we are the storytellers of the world. As humans we explore, investigate, and think, creating memories to form stories of ourselves, each other, and our world. We cannot consider ourselves superior or inferior in the community of life, but we should certainly acknowledge that thus far we are the only species endowed with this special gift of storytelling. We do not tell stories simply because we can; rather, we tell stories because it is part of who we are.