This
question hints at what I think is the most fascinating aspect of narrative: how
we understand the world and how we invest it with meaning. I think the fact
that so many of us, academics included, have such a hard time answering this
question hints at how mind-boggling and far-reaching it actually is. I will try
my best to follow a few threads here.
If someone asked me, personally,
what kind of story I’m living in, I would classify it as a character study
within the larger narrative of an apocalyptic drama. This isn’t to say I feel
myself to be some kind of hero or to paint my life as a sweeping epic; rather I
mean to situate my own internal struggles within the very real existential
crises I exist in as part of the human community. I think most people tend to
think that when the troubles of the world reach such a grand scale, our
personal problems and quests for meaning become dwarfed, insignificant even to
us, but I don’t find that to be the case. I think the threats our planet faces
in this dire era only amplify the desire for meaning on a personal level. Can I
make peace with the past, find some kind of inner strength/peace, connect with
Spirit in some lasting way, become the friend/partner/sister/daughter/comrade I
want to be, make some kind of positive change that will outlast me, all before it’s too late? Narratively
speaking, will we find our place in the story of the world while there is still
a world capable of being saved?
If someone asked me in a more
ephemeral, cosmic sense, what kind of story we are in, then the issue becomes
even more muddled. What is the purpose of narrative to humanity if we are alone
in the universe? If narrative is a universal human activity, is there some
underlying or overarching narrative we can all find ourselves in? If so, to
what end? Are we truly shapers of this narrative, or are we essentially the
shadows on the wall in some higher power’s mind as it narrates reality to
itself?
Like I said, mind-boggling.
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