A Tapestry of Stories

I wish the above title were a phrase that I thought of on my own but no such luck. I encountered it in the book "Why Good Things Happen to Good People" by Stephen Post, PhD and Jill Neimark.

If you have the time and if you still can find a copy in Manila bookstores, that's a pretty good book to check out but more on this book in a future entry.

If I recall correctly, the book mentions something about "life being a tapestry of stories." It's true, isn't it. Your big boss at the office. The elevator girl at your building. We are all living, breathing storybooks and novels going about our business in this world. How many times have you heard people say: "Magkuwento ka naman?" ("Can you please tell me a story?") In our daily lives, we call stories by different names -- chika, kuwento, usap, and heck, maybe even chismis (which is the vernacular for gossip) but you will agree with me that a life without stories will just be too drab.

Stories also help us become kinder people. I remember a sermon by a priest in our parish who at one time said: Do not judge others. Be kind to others. "Hindi mo alam ang buong kuwento." (You do not know the whole story.) We can't argue with his words of wisdom, right? We just can't possibly know everything that is going on with another person so since "hindi natin alam ang buong kuwento," maybe we can resolve to be kinder, more patient and more forgiving even if at times, it can be very difficult to do.

Which brings me to the subject of blogging. Bloggers are among the most prolific story tellers of our time. While it is usual to be met with a question like: "Ano naman ang isusulat ko?" (What will I write about?) when talking with people who have not started blogging or have no intention to blog or just write, those who have taken up the hobby (or even the business of blogging) are sure to never run out of stories. It can be about new information they have come across or it can even be as personal as what happened to their dog awhile ago. Basta blogger or writer, madaming kuwento.

Speaking of kuwentos, one blogger friend is Auee who blogs at kwentongwalangkwenta She's a Filipina blogger, living in the UK and I am always interested to read her stories about herself, whether on her blog or via e-mail. Before, her blog had a line which went something like this: "May kwenta sa akin, wala sa iyo." (I don't know if I remember correctly.) I was particularly struck by that line as I believe that choosing to be a blogger or a writer requires one thing first and foremost -- it is to spot a happening when everyone sees nothing. You and I may be looking at the same thing or the same event but each of us will have our own angle when re-telling or reacting. We will have our different stories.

So, life is a tapestry of stories. Isn't that great? And we have the internet to help us weave our individual tales. Ain't life grand?