I was reading Medium today, a great newsletter, and found this to be very interesting.  

The article, by Charles Chu, was discussing how our society loves story and quoted literary scholar, Jonathan Gottschall, from his book The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human:

“Story … continues to fulfill its ancient function of binding society by reinforcing a set of common values and strengthening the ties of common culture. Story enculturates the youth. It defines the people. It tells us what is laudable and what is contemptible. It subtly and constantly encourages us to be decent instead of decadent. Story is the grease and glue of society: by encouraging us to behave well, story reduces social friction while uniting people around common values. … Story — sacred and profane — is perhaps the main cohering force in human life. A society is composed of fractious people with different personalities, goals, and agendas. What connects us beyond our kinship ties? Story. As John Gardner puts it, fiction ‘is essentially serious and beneficial, a game played against chaos and death, against entropy.’ Story is the counterforce to social disorder, the tendency of things to fall apart. Story is the center without which the rest cannot hold.”

As someone fascinated by the human experience, I chewed on this for a bit.  When I was on HSN, producers always told me, "Find the Story" as it was a key to strong sales.  A key feature on Instagram is their  "24 hrs of our story".  (I still haven't managed that one yet.) Of course, the News sensationalizes story for ratings.  Our society has story indoctrinated into everything.  

It certainly is a process to peel away our layers to try get to who we truly are without external influences.  Who would we be without the stories that were told to us as children by our grandparents, in fairytales, in our schools and community?  With years and years of these influences is it even possible to be authentic?  I find it peaceful to shut down external stimulation to get a bit of relief from information overload .  One thing I know for sure, though, is that  I will never stop loving those stories about my ancestors.  :)