Journal to Readers

Note to readers: Christina's journal entries are added periodically as the seasons of the year roll around. To read previous journal entries, choose from the menu on the right.

May 2008:
Journal Entry: China

"Story is a map: the story that gets one person through
gets the next person through."

This line from my book, Storycatcher, comes dramatically to life in the PowerPoint slides being sent around the Internet in the months after the 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan Province of China on May 12, 2008.

The old saying goes: "a picture is worth a thousands words," but as a Storycatcher, I believe that words and pictures combined have an even greater impact. Pictures, such as these, break open our hearts, and when accompanied by story, they make a lasting impression—what I call "the map that gets the next person through."

There are many appropriate responses to these 18 slides: certainly the suffering of these ordinary people reminds us of our own vulnerability and commonality. Look. May 12 started out as a usual Monday in bustling 21st century towns and cities in the heart of China: people at work, children in school, commerce and communication—and then at 2:30 local time the earth heaved and tore open and life changed for millions of people.

The confirmed death toll (as of June 8, 2008) has risen to nearly 70,000 with 374,000 injured, and nearly 18,000 still listed as missing. There are 4.8 million people homeless, though the number could be as high as 11 million. Stop. Data cannot help us see the story map in this event.

First, wherever you are reading this, take a deep breath and try to imagine it being your last... Try to imagine that the building you are in suddenly turns to concrete rubble all around you, or that your children are in a school that has disintegrated, or that you can't locate anyone you love. This imagining brings the elements of story into play. In story, there is

     Chronology (something begins and ends)
          Character (it happens to somebody),
               Scene (it happens some place)
                    and Insight (it offers a point or lesson).

The earthquake and the people and the consequences start to get real. Now, add the photos and the captioned stories. This slideshow shares with the world inexorable losses and honorable choices. This slideshow speaks quietly of courage, sacrifice, and responses based on absolute understanding of our human connection. Watch. It will break open your heart to this man, this woman, these children… who are ourselves.  We who read this are thousands of miles away, sitting in comfort they can no longer imagine, we owe these people a few moments of conjoined grief.  They are living through this catastrophe—the least we can do is honor their stories.

This is a teaching tale: about a society that stepped into its challenge, unlike the government of Myanmar in response to Cyclone Nargis on May 2nd, and unlike the United States in response to Hurricane Katrina, August 28, 2005. International aid agency spokespeople are saying, "The world has something to learn from the way China has responded to its needs." So—Learn.

I look into these faces and ask myself: what am I being prepared to face? How can I store the altruism, social trust, and collective choices represented here in my mind and heart so that I can draw on them when needed in the circumstances of my life? In my journal, I have printed off and inserted several of these slides so that I remember to keep asking myself such questions.

Story is a map: the map that gets one person through gets the next person through.

Remember the invitation to share some of your stories is always available on the www.storycatcher.net web site, and books signed to your friends available at the office: www.peerspirit.com.