Once, there were no stories on earth to hear. They all belonged to the sky god, Nyame. He kept them in a golden box at the foot of his golden throne.
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| Image courtesy of Modern Ghana.com |
Now, Kwaku Anansi, the spider-man, wished to hear these stories. He thought Nyame too selfish keeping them all for himself. So he decided he would climb up to the sky god, and he would ask for that box of stories.
Nyame’s price – Osebo, the Leopard of the Terrible Teeth, Mmboro, the Hornets Who Sting Like Fire, and, Mmoatia, the Fairy Whom Men Never See.
Anansi agreed that he would pay this price, and despite Nyame’s derisive laughter, he is confident.
When he succeeds in his tasks, and delivers the three captives to the Sky Kingdom, he is awarded the stories and high praise from Nyame. He carries them back down to Earth, and tries to hoard these stories for himself, but Nature has other intentions, for you see, these are living stories and they have the desire to be free. When Anansi lifts the corner of the box to hear just one, out they all fly, pushing away the lid of the box, never to be contained again.
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Nyame is a trickster found in Ashanti folklore. The Ashanti still live today in Ghana and the Ashanti culture is alive and well.
We are, each one, a collection of stories. We carry them with us all day. These stories tell us who we are and what our place in the world is. These stories are often given to us by others – parents, spiritual leaders, political leaders, peers. It’s always a good idea to open the lid of the box, and let those stories loose into the air. See from a fresh perspective what you’ve collected and carry each day.
You may find that some of the heavier and muckier stories can be rinsed off and left to dry, never to return again to your golden box. You may find that you also carry stories that are quieter, and more powerful, that speak to your ‘golden’ nature – these stories enrich and empower you, enabling you to enrich and empower all those around you.
If you could choose any stories to represent who you are and what your place in the world is….. what would they be? Osebo? Mmboro? Mmoatia? Or, Sky God?
You are a collection of stories.
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| Courtesy ImpactLab |
These stories can empower you or they can limit you.
You have the right to choose which stories reveal the truth about who you are and let the rest fly off the the ends of the Earth, never to be seen again.
You can hear the entire story of Anansi on Story Harbour, vol. 1, available on Amazon.
©copyright Zette Harbour 2011 all rights reserved www.ZetteHarbour.com