Narrative: The Art of Sharing Experiences

The arts let us see the world through another’s eyes By Agostina_Belli.JPG: Errix at the Italian Wikipedia project. derivative work: Cavarrone (This file was derived from: Agostina_Belli.JPG) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Visual art shows us how an artist perceived a scene By juan francisco gonzaléz (http://www.rematesraulpena.cl/catalogo/index.htm) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Pointing us to aspects we might have missed By alberto valenzula llanos (http://www.portaldearte.cl/autores/valenzuela.htm) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Narrative adds the element of time 'Boatmen_on_the_Missouri’ by George Caleb Bingham [Public domain or CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

What came before … and after? How did this mother and her children arrive at the moment depicted in this photograph? MigrantMother. By Dorothea Lange, Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information / Office of Emergency Management / Resettlement Administration [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

What happened after the tsunami wave hit? English: A picture of the 2004 tsunami in Ao Nang, Krabi Province, w:Thailand. David Rydevik (email: david.rydevik at gmail dot com), Stockholm, Sweden. The permission to use this work has been archived in the Wikimedia OTRS system. It is available here for users with an OTRS account.

People all over the world tell stories Most often, these stories center on emotional responses to the words and actions of others -- As well as the reactions triggered by those emotional responses 'For Julio underneath the lattice play'd' William Miller [Public domain], after Birket Foster, via Wikimedia Commons,

Nor is emotion the sole preserve of humans Emotional response is anchored in ancient brain structures that, in humans, are buried beneath the neocortex (“grey matter”) that controls rational thought. Emotions giraffes By Liliandecassai (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 ( http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Emotions_giraffes.jpg/1024px-Emotions_giraffes.jpg )

Given the complexity of human response, individual actions may take us by surprise. Yet, as we come to understand individual motivations, our view of human potential becomes broader and deeper. Evstafiev-bosnia-cello (A cello player in the partially destroyed National Library, Sarajevo, during the war in 1992) By Mikhail Evstafiev (Mikhail Evstafiev) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

Stories enable us to “walk a mile in the shoes” of people we have never met. Strangers cease to be “The Other.” Their actions become comprehensible. Old black and white photo of a man walking in a tunnel with a camera. Taken at São Martinho do Porto, West coast of Portugal. It is uncertain whether the man is approaching the camera or walking away from it.. By Joaquim Alves Gaspar (Own work (own photo)) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

We empathize with other people’s struggles. Farmer plowing in Fahrenwalde, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Ralf Roletschek [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

As we recognize parallels to our own lives. We begin to see how our own, individual narrative …fits into the larger narrative of our family, town, and nation. By Hollem, Howard R [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons