Storytelling as a means of Transformation

Derry/Londonderry - UK City of Culture 2013

From November 2012 to the start of the new yew year I took part in a training course for facilitating storytelling and positive encounter dialogue with Towards Understanding and Healing. The ethos behind this process promotes the restoration of dignity to victims and offers a process of diverse storytelling as a catalyst for forgiveness and transformation. The potentials have been realised for a number of those in Northern Ireland affected by the Troubles, where people whose paths had crossed in a negative way in the past had an opportunity to change the narrative for their future. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to take part.

One particular session that had great inspiration for me was the Beads Workshop, where we made a bracelet to signify our life story, where each bead carried significant elements of our lives, which we then shared in small groups. The power of creative tools to draw upon memories, in all of their positive and negative forms, and the value of feeling heard in empathy is great. There aren't many opportunities in this life to speak to reflect on what has been and to express that to others. There was something unique about the intimacy of discussion, where we all shared in one anther's stories and felt the ups and downs of others just as we would our own. Empathy and human relatedness was harnessed throughout these sessions in a way that made me a true believer in this process.

This weekend a friend from my training group and myself travelled to Derry to meet with Teya Sepunik the founder and artistic director of Theater of Witness and take part in a workshop to explore the meaning of sanctuary (http://www.tovatheaterofwitness.org/). The Theater of Witness in Northern Ireland has transformed stories of pain and loss into meaningful works of art, where those who were victims and/or perpetrators of terrible circumstances become actors who bring their own narratives to life on the stage for others to experience. Our discussion of sanctuary was focused on creating ideas for a new production underway for this Autumn by the same name. The potential for strangers to spend two hours together and engage in storytelling to create value and art from dire circumstances is proof that there is hope for transformation in Northern Ireland as in other parts of the world. 

This process of human interaction is very intense and because it is highly organised it can feel somewhat unnatural. However, in its core, storytelling is an organic act we all take part in each and everyday. Truly sharing, listening, valuing and empathising with oneself and others does not happen nearly enough in this world, but it's very clear to me that it can happen and when it does, the potentials are great.

Reconciliation Monument - Derry/Londonderry