Hundredth Human.com

A Story about a Regular Guy and His Irregular Thoughts

They say we're living in the Information Age. While this is certainly true, I think it should be called the Storytelling Age because everywhere I go these days there seems to be someone there who has a story they want to tell me. Shopping for food at the grocery store, getting quarters for laundry at the bank, and sometimes even when I'm just walking down the street. It doesn't seem to matter where I am or what I'm doing, there always seems to be somebody there who wants to occupy my time by telling me some story about themselves. Most of the time all I have to do is give a polite smile or a cordial hello, and suddenly, my ears are assaulted by the tragic details of someone else's life. I've heard stories about terrible breakups, horrible roommates, jealous lovers, and many other uninspired and uninspiring stories. I often wonder is it me, or do these people verbally assault everyone they encounter with the details of their lives that nobody cares about but them? Most of these stories are just random noise from random strangers, told more as a way to vent and let go of the pent up emotions from the drama in the storyteller's life than as a serious way to communicate valuable information from one person to another. But sometimes a story gets my attention and makes me want to listen to the telling of it. On rarer occasion, a story has something in it I can relate to, some delicious morsel of life, a lesson learned by a stranger and given to me as if it were fast food carryout. It is truly remarkable when someone tells me what's going on in their life and I can relate it to what's going on in mine, allowing me to learn something worthwhile from it. I find these stories, not the boring, uninspired ones but the interesting, inspired ones, to be so remarkable they are the inspiration for this website.

Storytelling is an important part of the human experience. It allows us to create shared narratives, commonly understood stories that give meaning to human experiences, meaning that influences how we interpret what we observe in the world around us (Claridge, 2020). Storytelling bolsters our sense of community and fuels the interconnectedness that exists within us. I believe we are all spiritually connected, that deep within each of us at the core of our being, there is an innate connection to the rest of humankind. Human interconnectedness is not a commonly held belief in the West, and there is no word in English that refers to the inner space that all humans share. The Western concept of intuition is similar but actually refers to something altogether different. There is a word for it in the East. Namaste is a Sanskrit word used in India as a respectful greeting. Translated to English, it means when I am in the place deep within myself where I am most alone, I am there with you. It refers to the concept of oneness, that we are all part of the true nature of life. It serves as a reminder that we are never truly alone in the world. It is within human interconnectedness, namaste, that I believe all of life's questions can be answered.

The ability to tell a story about one's life in a way that enables that story to affect another person in a positive way can be a powerful spiritual experience, and it can transport both people to that special place deep within them where they are connected to the rest of humanity.

I'm not sure exactly when it happened. Certainly, it was long before I became aware of it. Of course, there must have been a period of time in which I was aware of it but wouldn't admit it to anyone, especially myself. When I did become aware of it, I struggled with the very thought of it, agonizing over the shame and humiliation it could bring to me and the people close to me. How could I have allowed it to happen?

One day a long time ago, a peculiar thought entered my mind, a thought I haven't been able to stop thinking.

Perhaps I, too, have a story to tell.

That story is the primary focus of this website.

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Begin your adventure with my story HERE.

Works Cited

Claridge, Tristan. (2020). Shared Narratives. Social Capital Literature, 7(1). 45-49.

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