There's something very powerful about stories, don't you think?
This is the magical story of a young girl named Lily who finds an elderly man living alone on the moon.
Whose story do you identify with more? The elderly man who sits alone, unknown and forgotten? Or the young girl whose heart is moved into action towards the needy?
What's so good about stories?
Stories have the power to move us. They reach inside and coax out our emotions. For some of us, those emotions are waiting just beneath our skin, shouting "over here"! For others, the story has to reach into our deepest recesses to find any emotion.
A good story finds them wherever.
Stories are both the gate and the gatekeepers to our emotions. They open the way to a deeper self-understanding.
But that understanding doesn't end at us. Good stories are intense windows into someone else's life, someone else's experience. By evoking in us the emotion that the protagonist feels, they allow us to identify.
We identify with the storyteller and with other viewers, listeners and consumers.
Stories bring us together
Identification is huge.
Identification is empathy, is understanding, is unity.
When we hear stories that move us, when we enter into the very same emotion the storyteller is feeling, we find common ground. Who can't identify with the loss Murid-e-Shah, an Ismaili Afghan refugee, shared in his story.
As I write, wannabe Presidents are promoting a sense of 'other' in others. Left or Right, the message is that immigrants, Muslims, non-prototypical Americans are different. Some use this as an excuse to shun, some to accommodate. Few identify.
Stories are the inclusive, warm embrace.
You can find stories everywhere
Stories have entertained, terrified and captivated mankind since its earliest days. They are common to every culture, language and people. They are expressed in different forms, mediums and methods, but they are nevertheless common to all.
We find stories in books, on TV shows, in movies. We find stories in video games, marketing materials and newspapers; around the campfire, the dinner table and the water cooler.
The novel is one of the greatest sources of stories. Told by masters in the art of storytelling, we give the novel the time and space to develop stories and emotions of epic proportions.
If you're anything like me, you return novels to their shelf with a sense of loss and loneliness as you part ways with characters that have become friends.
Why you should host a book club
Given how powerful the connection is between story, emotion and identity, why wouldn't we do everything we can to promote storytelling in our efforts to foster Christian-Ismaili dialogue and understanding?
That's why we've started the Meet My Story movement.
And that's why we want to invite you to start your own Meet My Story book club.
If you're not already convinced, here are three more reasons you should consider starting an interfaith book club in your community.
1. Make new friends
Have you ever had the chance to meet someone outside your faith community? Making connections at a book club could spark new friendships that will dramatically enrich your life.
2. Become an ambassador for reconciliation
Think about this: A once a month gathering in your home of just a handful of Christians and Ismailis could be a catalyst for unity.
3. Discover new literature
Not every reason for reading has to be altruistic! Having the chance to simply enjoy the process and digest it with similarly interested people could be the best experience you've ever had with literature!
Would you be interested in hosting a Christian-Ismaili Meet My Story book club? Get in touch with us using ismailfriends@gmail.com, or leave a comment below.