Some ramblings about thinking…

This was some stream of consciousness stuff from the other day--

It occurs to me that I think in stories. On one hand this is such a big ‘duh’ that it’s not worth mentioning but the observation has never been as clear to me as it is right now.

Once, many years ago, some friends were doing caricature impressions and the ‘snapshot’ of me was speaking quickly, drawing analogies for everything and gesturing enthusiastically, slowly backing my listener into a corner. (Now, that last bit was unfair, I didn’t and don’t corner people.) But the fastest way to ‘pin me down’ was my enthusiastic analogizing—this is like this and that and so on, and I like to synthesize my stories and thoughts together. Again, I feel the ‘duh’ aspect of this and yet I’m affected by the voices that dismiss fiction and analogies, which down play stories and storytelling. They present it as something childish like fairytales, or pretentious, or as some sort of a harmless pastime.

But I think in stories and analogies. I can handle linear patterns and classic logic (and believe me, it’s a dwindling skill) but I normally, naturally think in stories. And I have to conclude that many others do too. Partially because we drink in stories, we retell them. Even a lot of non-fiction is about the stories of ‘regular people’ learning what the book is trying to teach or about the extraordinary people in the field of interest. Christ used parables and really the Bible is a story about how God is love and how He loves us. And that is the most powerful thing I know.