World stories

Stories have been told and retold for centuries throughout the world. How come? Because they are entertaining, for one thing. For another, they deal with the human condition. Even animal characters in stories act out the situations of our own humanity.

For centuries as well, life has been a struggle. Conflict. Famine. Thorny relationships. All of which beg for some direction, some assistance. Some kind of resolution.

Needless to say, no one cares to listen to preaching. We prefer to take our medicine with a bit of sweetener. That is where laughter comes in. It is the honey in the brew. Priceless humor is filled with wit and wisdom. An awesome blend of entertainment and enlightenment.

As you know, everyone loves to laugh. Laughter takes the sting out of life. And everyone loves to laugh at the foibles of our own species (as long as it happens at the expense of another). Call it priceless humor.

Look at the great humorists around us. Dave Barry. Mark Russell. Garrison Kiellor. Look at history and the humorists that litter the pages. Moliere. Ogden Nash. All of them were storytellers. Priceless humor their brush.

What makes priceless humor? The answer is simple. Priceless humor revolves about common everyday experiences. The lost keys. The misunderstood comment. The laughable consequences generally follow in quick succession.

You will find lots of priceless humor in urban folktales. Listeners can readily find many humorous circumstances in my CD Parking in Manhattan. These hilarious comedies involve characters everybody can relate to and empathasize with. Priceless humor arises out of priceless situations.

You can also find many examples of priceless humor in world stories. The retelling of such stories never ceases to bring gales of laughter to listeners. Two good examples from my CD Fables in Four Minutes are “Rock Soup” and “Herschel in the Woods” Listen to “The Egg Seller” or “Hickory Dock” from World Full of Stories. There are many similar examples of priceless humor from virtually every country on the planet. You will find yourself remembering these stories for a very long time. At www.jaystetzer.com you will find a rich source of priceless humor!

I listen to lots of conversations. They are laden with disasters and catastrophes. The conversants generally cannot see the life lesson they offer. It is my job as a storyteller to sort out the meaning from all the information I hear. Also, I need to inject a bit of humor to make the tale palatable. Priceless humor.

Virtually every storytelling genre contains examples of priceless humor. What is the reason for it? Simple answer number two. We learn best when we are laughing. There is often a lesson to be learned through a story with priceless humor. It just goes to show what a treasure priceless humor can be.

My research into stories in the past few years have uncovered a number of stories that go well beyond a clever plot to amuse my listeners. Call it a message, or perhaps a hint of direction. They could even suggest a moral. The name of this elusive quality is not all that important. It is more important that the stories I tell possess it. They are inspirational stories.

Inspirational stories give listeners something to chew on. They can mull it over long after they heard the story. It gives them something that points them a bit closer to their “true north.” Nifty stories.

Go to the “Listen” page of my website. There are a number of story samples where you are liable to find some meaningful direction. And you are likely to find the inspirational stories sticking in your mind. In fact, the inspirational stories I tell even inspire me!

In this fast moving, complex world, we all need a bit of “inner” direction to guide us as we move down the highway of life. We can be confounded and dizzy by all its twists and turns. To help us stay on the road, inspirational stories can guide us. It is like having your very own GPS. You can find plenty of inspirational stories in all of my recordings. Check them out!