Campfires inspire rituals like roasting 'smores, singing camp songs, and telling stories. When you're around a campfire without distractions, you'll often do all three. The natural setting and the crackling flames call forth something primal in us humans -- the ancient act of storytelling.
As author Reynolds Price put it:
"A need to tell and hear stories is essential to the species Homo sapiens - second in necessity apparently after nourishment and before love and shelter. Millions survive without love or home, almost none in silence; the opposite of silence leads quickly to narrative, and the sound of story is the dominant sound of our
lives . . ."
Actual in-nature campfires have certain qualities and features that stimulate storytelling: Qualities of hospitality, inclusion, and informality. Features of a circle (equality), seated on the ground (informality), fire (warmth and fascination), and nature (for "earthing" us and a primal "feel".)
Does sharing stories make a real conversation? Yes. Taking turns listening and speaking. A bit more structured than casual conversations, but real conversations nonetheless.
Some types of stories to share:
●Fairy tales ("Once Upon a Time . . .") made up or re-told
●Improvised stories on a theme (e.g., "Danger" or "Adventure" or "Fun")
●Tall Tales (including whoppers about fishing or hunting)
●Ghost stories (but maybe not for little kids)
●Ancestral stories (e.g. "How great-grandfather came from the old country.")
●Personal life stories (e.g., "When Uncle Bill taught me to swim")
Fortunately, if you don't have a campfire experience handy, you can simulate the campfire experience in a pub or even a backyard or "family room." You can borrow the qualities and features of the campfire experience in nature to stimulate story telling.
I have attended dozens of retreats and group experiences that modeled the informality and inclusion of campfires without an actual fire. We dressed informally, sat on the floor in a circle, sometimes "warmed up" with singing, and shared personal experiences.
The main things to stimulate sharing are the campfire qualities and features. (For example, even at a traditional meeting, a round table will elicit more participation than a rectangular table with a place for
the "head person.")
Everyone has a story to tell. Campfires help them tell it.
Note: For readers who want to learn more about storytelling in human history, I recommend "The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human," by Jonathan Gottschall (2012)
Until next week,
Loren
