Can you remember the last time you heard a story that made you see the world, or yourself differently? There’s a curious phenomenon where the older a story gets, the more this potential to change the listener becomes apparent.
Just think of Homer’s Odyssey, or one of Shakespeare’s plays, stories that have lasted for hundreds or even thousands of years and that despite coming from peoples with wildly different worldviews and cultures, never fail to transform us.
For creatives, these stories transcend the realm of entertainment, becoming tools that help us expand our imagination and problem solving by feeding us the experience that goes far beyond our own time and place in the world.
Why Old Stories Foster Creativity
Myth and folklore operate in a completely different logic from the modern stories of today. They are not as obsessed with explaining everything and tend to leave gaps for listeners to fill, making use of narrative devices to entice our imagination.
Whenever a trickster surprises us with how they solve a problem, or a hero faces a challenge that has multiple solutions, our brain naturally starts running possibilities in our head, placing us within the narrative.
For children this is especially beneficial since it teaches them to think symbolically and connect the dots between literal events and bigger ideas like virtue, vice, cleverness, perseverance, hope and courage.
In other words, they’re learning to think abstractly, which directly plays into their capability of tackling things like math, navigating friendships and dealing with problems later in life.
Old Tales New Context
Now, for the true value of these stories to come out, you need to make the abstract concepts they bring and turn them into concrete actions, make them your own. You can do this not only by going through similar situations yourself, but changing some aspects so that they’re closer to your reality.
The tale of Maui slowing down the sun, for example, could easily be translated into a child’s struggle with not having enough time to finish their favorite activities during the day. This kind of retelling not only helps you uncover some concepts of the story you may have missed, but is a great way to flex your creative muscles.
In fact, you can try this out right now. Pick a folklore character you like, it could be Pele the volcano goddess or Kamapua’a the shape-shifting demigod, and have them navigate some modern problem like finding a lost wallet and trying to return it, or doing a job interview. You’ll be surprised by where the story takes you.
Building Cultural Bridges Through Storytelling
Another wonderful byproduct of studying myths from different cultures is that you begin to see where the stories interlap. Flood stories for example are present on all continents and across the most distant and distinct cultures.
The more parallels we find the clearer the picture becomes about what aspects of human experience are truly universal, which in turn helps us build empathy and get over the “otherness” of other cultures.
These interlaps are also prime real estate for creativity, allowing us to mix and match symbols and characters that, despite coming from different cultures and being distinct in their flavor, share a deeper meaning that can be explored in future stories.
Start Your Creative Story Journey Today
Ready to bring more cultural storytelling into your family’s life? Island Legends: Hawaiian Tales & Activities for Kids combines authentic stories with hands-on creative activities designed to spark imagination and problem-solving skills. Visit www.thecreativemindset.com to explore this book and other creativity-boosting resources for wild dreamers and unconventional thinkers of all ages.
