A piece of sunshine

Storytellers, we are

Each of us has our story. Our life with ups and downs creates an interesting story as well as a touching testimony to life.

 

We like to tell a story. We like to listen to stories. We like to communicate with others through storytelling.

Believing that storytelling is the most effective way to communicate, such a storytelling technique is largely applied to marketing, planning, and promotion in every field.

 

With the appealing and persuasive power, creative storytelling leads us to concentrate on the topic with immersion and empathy.

 

Publishers are fond of such stories to share with others around the world. Books tell various human stories, both informative and performative.

 

So, the slogan on the UNESCO website for World Book Day on April 23 was "Reading is more important than ever today. Read and you will never be alone."

 

"World Book and Copyright Day" celebrated its 25th anniversary on April 23. The first World Book Day was celebrated on April 23, 1995. This date was chosen as it was the day in 1616 when three of history's most significant writers all passed away; Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) who wrote "Don Quixote," William Shakespeare (1564-1616), and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (1539-1616).

 

World Book Day has its roots in Catalonia, an autonomous community in Spain, whose patron saint is St. George. On the feast day of St. George, it is a custom for loved ones to give a rose to their respected people who, in return, give a book as a gift. Following this tradition, some booksellers still give a rose to each client who purchases a book.

 

So as to celebrate World Book Day this year, online initiatives such as book readings and streaming marathons were programmed due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 emergency.

 

Because of e-books, digital content and YouTube, many people were concerned about the destiny of paper books, but we still have lots of new books around.

 

Interestingly enough, the main topic of Pope Francis' message of the 54th World Communications Day on May 24 this year was "stories" and the Pope quoted a passage from Exodus: "that you may tell in the hearing of your children and grandchildren… what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord" (Ex 10:2).

 

As Pope Francis points out, each of us in the world is closely interrelated like "threads". Our being in interconnection and co-relation creates lots of unique stories. Naturally, we become storytellers to one another.

 

There are various stories: some stories are bad and unhealthy like the story of the serpent that tempted Eve to eat an apple in the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament. But that story led people to lying, dishonesty, confrontation, rejection, hatred, violence, and death.

 

Thanks to the benefits of the internet, we are also surrounded by fake news and false stories. Manipulation of identity via "deepfakes" using machine learning and artificial intelligence keeps people vulnerable.

 

On the other hand, good stories last forever, giving nutrition to souls. Among the stories, the Bible is the foremost collection of stories of God's love for mankind. In the Bible, there appears Jesus Christ who was born, lived and died to witness the infinite love of God for us.

Day and night, we are growing up with various fairy tales, poems, essays, novels, movies, songs and news that deal with human stories with the truth, goodness and beauty of life. If you haven't read the Bible yet, how about giving it a read?

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