Reflections on Storytelling

Albert Einstein once said, “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.”

That was over 70 years ago, and his assertion resonates with our condition perhaps even more today. What would he have said now? And do you agree? 

In a world where technology so easily grabs our attention, we can choose to seek a renewed balance between progress and what the Polish theatre maker Grotowski once described as “…the closeness of the living organism.”

If technology risks pulling us apart, then storytelling is the technology that keeps us connected. The reference to theatre above is apt, because we don’t just tell our stories, we perform them. Even a written story requires someone to type the words and another to read them.

We bring our physicality, quite literally, into the act of sharing a story. Research shows how our bodies respond physiologically when we tell or listen. One example is the release of oxytocin during storytelling, a hormone that nurtures empathy and emotional connection (see Paul Zak’s work).

Through story, our biology and our humanity meet. We become participants, not just narrators, in the theatre of life.

Humans live in multiple unfolding narratives. And no amount of technology will ever replace “the closeness of the living organism.”

This is why storytelling will always be relevant. Stories act as mirrors, sometimes clear, sometimes rippling, sometimes upside down, but always revealing. Like theatre, stories reflect who we are, and without that reflection, we cannot find our way forward.

👉 Where does story show up as a mirror in your own life?