We as human beings travelled in small bands for hundreds of thousands of years.

Some of our group during the day went hunting for food. In the shelter of the cave, sitting or lying around the fire we told our stories. Maybe before speech we enacted our stories. The stories we told were of courage, endeavour and of feeling afraid. We bands of humans were brought together in these acts of story telling.

I love storytelling.

Where I live there is a Green Festival. Included in this festival are evenings of traditional storytelling. It is interesting to partake of these intimate events. Today, however, storytelling remains a fringe event. Once, not so long ago, it was something most every one could do. Now, rather than tell our own stories we are left to listen to the stories of others.

Stories come down to us through all times and all cultures. Religion tells the stories of the prophets. Mythology tells the story of the human psyche. Archaeology tells the story of our home, community buildings and much much more.

In the 21st Century the dull and the ignorant will not be given the time to be listened to.

This is true of the increasing underclass. It is interesting to note that people who do not have a voice in our society tattoo or paint their bodies. It is a way of voicing their identity. This is particularly true of young people who fall foul of the law. The system takes away not only their liberty but also their voice.

They become dull and ignorant because they have no purpose. They have not been taught what it is to have a purpose in life. They are forgotten and their lives become a wasteland. Their story is never heard. It is often founded in violence, abuse or mental illness.

It takes courage to listen to the dull and the ignorant. It takes immense patience. Yet it is not fair to listen to the story of others if you are not prepared to tell and live your own story. This is not only the story of your life to date but what your story will become.

Once you focus on what your life will become then in following your vision you allow others to tell their story. You give them permission to speak their truth quietly and clearly. This is one of the greatest permissions you can give. Not only will you allow your story to be heard but by doing so you validate hearing the story of others.

Many of you go through your lives never once remembering what it feels like to have been heard. I have set before people who have thanked me profusely. They have wept. They will say that they feel heard. It is such a wondrous and privileged position to be in when another opens the storybook of their heart.

I have often heard it said