The Importance and the Power of Myth, Story and Legendary Tales:
I had an experience on Sunday, Father’s Day with my only son. My son is a pastor of a church. He started the church. He’s the Founder. Jesus Christ is the foundation. My son invited me to go to Disneyland with him and some friends.
The day started late as the ‘reservation’ we had did not begin until 8 pm. (I am a person that is usually in bed by 8:30 pm. Because I rise early to write). The ‘reservation’ was for the new attraction Disney has built around the Star Wars franchise.
I want you writers to know that your work, your stories, your tales, your myths, your fairy tales, your epic legendary sagas, these matter.
What I saw astounded me. I have to say that this ‘attraction’ is the most gripping and appealing ‘theme park’ I have ever been to in my life.
It is surreal and it is absorbing and it immerses you into the world and imagination of the tale. It is censorial and it is submerging. And everything about it began in the imagination of one man: George Lucas.
Now, his work, his imagination, his venture into the ether is beyond an empire. It is in fact: a global and unifying human experience.
What I saw and witnessed:
· Young and old, rich and poor, all people of every color and ethnicity walking and roaming and milling about in harmony and in complete and utter unity
· Young and old, rich and poor, men and women purchasing the ‘gear’ and merchandise of the art-form and gladly and proudly adopting each adornment and accessory as badges of honor
· Young and old, rich and poor, men and women speaking the language not of their own culture, but of the culture of the myth and the legendary tale
What I left with, what carried me home and stayed with me is the power, importance and the utter fascination men and women, boys and girls have with stories and myths and legends and tales.
My brothers and my sisters: Write!
You may not live to see your tale or story enshrined in a section of Disneyland.
But you will live to see your story etched into the lives and absorbed into the hearts and minds of readers and viewers and delighted souls.
Some take-away Lessons to Live By:
· Myths, stories, tales and legends are the very fabric of humanity: our souls long for tales that take us away. Our souls live for the moments when characters arrive that erupt envies and spark ingenuity and remind us to keep moving when we feel like sitting still
· Good and evil, yin and yang, force and counter-force are always ‘en vogue’. The pull of what is right and the oppression of what is not right always have appeal
· Real stories, stories of mirth and merriment and strength and sadness and joy and sorrows and birth and death and hatred and love and warmth and lack of affections and loss and reclaimed victories…never go out of style
· Embrace contradiction: embrace the fact that no one notices or seems to care. The point of the work is that you care
· Audience appeal and public consumption: your work is not to remain pickled in a jar and sealed in formaldehyde. Your work is to find the light of day and to delight and incite and evoke leaps of faith and joyous spirits
One day that young man George Lucas sat in a café or a basement or a dorm room or a garage or a park bench and he imagined a Galaxy far, far away.
You my beloved friend or to go and do likewise.
Travel Far.
Pastor Steve Bonenberger,
Shepherd to Creatives Everywhere