Month: September 2016

Write a short story (600 – 1000 words max) that describes your sense of home and the values and stories that you use to connect yourself to your home and respond to all comments on your blog.

An interesting video project about the meaning of home

“Home may be in another time and place, and yet it holds us in its power here and now. Home is like our language, compelling us to think and feel in certain ways and giving us the freedom to imagine other ways and other places. It is who we are and where we belong. Home both binds us and liberates us” -Chamberlin (76).

There’s no place like home. As we journey through life—it is comforting to know that there is a place where you can find solace, comfort, and open arms just across the threshold.

I just stated that there is no “place” like home. I lied. To me, home is not a place, but the people who make the home.

It’s knowing that no matter how hard times get, someone is there for you.

The delicious scent of dinner in the oven.

The smell of fresh laundry and a hot cup of tea.

The most common understanding of home was that it was a place within you that is built out of memories, community, family, togetherness, and not the literal structure of the house. Home is inside of every one of us.

The sense of familiarity is also what makes the home. It could be anywhere on Earth, but I carry the home wherever I go. I moved every year or two ever since I was a child and despite the change of scenery and material possessions, I’ve always felt that familiarity as long as I could see my friends and family and be able to find solace in their open arms.

Perhaps, home is a state of mind. Home is where I feel I belong and know that people there will say you belong to them, no matter the situation. Our home is whatever we provide for ourselves.

To me home has always been where I could go to be myself. Where things are the way I left them. It is a place of rest and peace. It has sometimes been a place of luxury and comfort while there have been times when it was barely four walls and a fan. But, in all those times, home has been a place of solitary peace for me, where I can escape from the world.

Ideally, the physical home is also connected with the spiritual home — the social capital you need to feel like you belong. If you have both a place and a community and you are wanted in that place and you want to be in that place, then I would say that is a home. A place where, when you have to go there, or even if you don’t have to go there but just want to be there, you are welcome and they do take you in.

I love travelling and I don’t think I could ever settle anywhere, especially Vancouver, a place that I grew up in and have lived my entire life. The comfort is what motivates me to continually move away from home, but it is the people who keep me coming back. Even if I’m hundreds of miles away from my loved ones, the thoughts of them being there for me is my home so the meaning and value is never lost.  I’m young and I don’t want to be comfortable and home is where I can be too much of myself and too little of the space around me.

The stories that connect me to my home include the countless family vacations, arguments, and the time spent with friends and family in the same space. The comfort and sometimes, discomfort through the petty drama of our lives. The re-telling of our personal stories. Home are the stories that we tell our family and the response and love we receive through everyday life.

I will get up one day and leave it all behind. However, home is never lost. I don’t think I’ll ever settle in one place for long, but I continually build home in people, communities, habits, and my ever-evolving patterns of being.

A great TED Talk on Where is Home?

Works Cited:

Chamberlin, J. Edward. If This Is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories?:Finding Common Ground. Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2004. Print.

TEDtalksDirector. “Pico Iyer: Where Is Home?” YouTube. YouTube, 2013. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

“What Is Home?” A Video Project by Studio 20. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

Your task is to take the story that Kings tells about how evil comes into the world at the witches conference [In “The Truth About Stories” ] — and change the story any way you want — as long as the end remains the same: once you have told a story, you can never take it back. So, be careful of the stories you tell, AND the stories you listen to. 

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In thе beginning, thеrе wаѕ оnlу energy аnd thе dark, аnd thе chaos оf thе forest. Out оf thе forest rose thе world’s fіrѕt cave. Thе cave supplied а place fоr thе fіrѕt god tо create hеrѕеlf аnd thе fіrѕt thіng ѕhе created wаѕ fire. Shе emerged frоm thе dark аnd formless chaos, thеrеfоrе ѕhе hаd nо memory оf hеr creation аѕ memory wаѕ nоt created.
Fоr а long time, life wаѕ dark аnd silent, thеrе wаѕ barely аnу noise but thе rustling оf thе leaves. Nothingness. A small fire lit uр а small area іn а cave. A single woman sits bу thе fire thinking quietly tо hеrѕеlf staring аt thе flames. Thе silence wаѕ eerie.
Shе wаѕ nеvеr аlоnе аѕ ѕhе enjoyed thе company оf fire аѕ іt danced аrоund hеr аnd ѕhе loved playing wіth thе flames.
Thе animals wеrе аlwауѕ asleep іn thіѕ world аѕ іt wаѕ аlwауѕ night.
Meanwhile, а lone wolf treads іntо thе forest. Thе deeper hе ventured іntо thе woods, thе mоrе mysterious thе area became. Hе didn’t knоw оr nееd tо understand whу hе wаѕ awake. Hе јuѕt was. Thеrе wеrе noises hе hаd nеvеr heard before, аnd plants hе didn’t knоw existed. It ѕееmеd lіkе thе world didn’t exist bеfоrе hе dived іntо thе forest space.
Thе noise оf hіѕ paws reverberated аnd retracted tо соmе bасk аt hіm frоm thе unseen depths. Thе leaves crushed beneath hіѕ paws. Hе wаѕ attracted tо thе dim light deep іntо thе forest. Hе ventured close tо thе cave аnd thе woman аnd hіm gazed аt еасh оthеr wіth muсh curiosity.
Thе woman looked оut іntо thе darkness аnd оnlу ѕаw sinister, bright orange eyes. Shе wаѕ afraid аnd thаt wаѕ hоw fear wаѕ created. Sweat dripped hеr forehead аѕ hеr anxiety rose аnd ѕhе dіd nоt knоw hоw tо defend hеrѕеlf frоm аn unknown creature іn thе darkness.
Hе inched closer аnd smelled thе delicious scent оf thе woman. Hе wаѕ extremely hungry.

Thе newcomer slowly walked іntо thе cave wіth hіѕ grimacing fangs reflecting thе light оf thе fire. Thе cave grew deathly silent аt hіѕ arrival. Hе wаѕ hеrе fоr thе hunt аnd thе prey nervously stood іn front оf him.
Thе fire trіеd tо pierce thе wolf’s skin bеfоrе hіѕ attack, but thе wolf соuld nоt resist thе temptation оf thе game. Shе told thе fire tо save hеr оwn life аnd thе flame hesitated аt first.
Hе pranced. Then, оnlу а bloody mess wаѕ left оf thе woman. Thаt wаѕ thе fіrѕt time thе world hаd experienced death.
Thе fire managed tо escape thе world аnd engulfed thе world wіth light іn order tо protect it.
However, thе darkness lingered. Thіѕ wаѕ thе fіrѕt darkness created іn thіѕ world born thrоugh tragedy аnd loss оf оur god. Now, everyone’s lives involved darkness іn ѕоmе form rеgаrdlеѕѕ оf whаt thеу did.

Thіѕ layer оf darkness exists everyday іn оur lives аnd thе wolf lives оn іn еасh оf uѕ ready tо devour uѕ іf we’re nоt careful.
Whеn evil саmе іntо thе world, іt wаѕ іn thе form оf а story.

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The feedback was positive for this story and many of friends and family noted the sinister darkness of such a story. All of the people who heard my story were able to discern the moral, in the form of a warning about the power of tales. Many also noted the “eerie” tone and it derives from my attempt to distance myself from the original context.

The power of words and story is one I truly believe in, therefore, the story was easy for me to write.

Works Cited:

King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 2003. Print.

Write a summary of three significant points that you find most interesting in the final chapter of If This is Your Land, Where are Your Stories?

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Chamberlin encourages us in the last chapter of his novel to see things from different perspectives and realize that there is always more than one truth. In Chapter 11, Chamberlain tells us the story of the legendary Mediik during the Delgamuukw case in 1997.

Story-Telling

Story-telling is a way of defining our place in society and our identities on this planet. Chamberlin starts the chapter with the story from the Gitksan about Mediik the grizzly, the sacred mountain of Stekyooden, and village of Temlaxam. It is the story of a flood and for the Gitskan, story-telling is a completely accurate means of depicting these historical events. They stated, “when the villagers did not listen Mediik came roaring down the mountain bringing much of it with him covering the valley floor and destroying the village of Temlaxam, once a place of peace and prosperity to the people who lived there” (Chamberlin 219).

In the perspective of mainstream Canadian culture, scientific evidence is the only correct means of proving this historical story to be accurate (Chamberlin 220-221). Both stories are accurate in their own right but are seen as complete opposites and unrelated to one another. Despite how the scientific story confirms the Mediik legend, the Gitksan people were still required to persuade the judge that both stories complimented and did not discredit one another.

Differences between Cultures Need to Be Embraced

Chamberlin expresses his sentiments through his telling of a broad range of ‘ceremonies’ which are practiced by varying cultures. These differences of the ceremonies separate them as individuals and yet forms identities in groups, therefore these differences are necessary (240). There are inevitable differences that exist between cultures which must be embraced in order for respect and understanding to occur. The differences in the values of Gitxsan vs. our culture is displayed here and here

Contradictory Truths

The next concept I’d like to discuss deals with our perception between the “realistic” discoveries of the sciences and “imaginative” inventions of religion and the arts (Chamberlin 233). Why are the stories that have been told to us or that we tell ourselves always thought of as false? The author of “If This is Your Land, Where are Your Stories?” urges his readers to break free from cultural dichotomies and stop thinking of indigenous culture as a separation from ours. Chamberlin states that we often separate ourselves from “Us” and “Them” because of these difference in truths and that we should move beyond cultural borders to understand that there is no “us” and “them” and that there is only one.

Camberlin states, “the problem is our forgetting the contradiction between fact and fiction, the true and the not true, upon which any story-including our own story-depends for its power; and our ignoring the credit upon which any currency…ultimately depends” (Chamberlin 230). He is emphasizing that rejecting Aboriginal truths should not define us as people.

He mentions that there are two stories which chronicle the events of how we came to be and the ceremonies of belief of why we belong in Canada (Chamberlin 227). The conflict between these two strain of thought initiates when we try to compare these stories and eventually believe only one and that you must dismiss the other in order to not discredit your own.

The story of the Mediik has it’s own truth just as ours have our own. Once we realize that these stories are not meant to be separate or alien to one another, we begin to foster respect for other cultures. These new thoughts may even start uniting us instead of tearing people apart.

What do you think of my perspective on these issues?

Are there contradictory truths?

Works Cited:

Beaudoin, Gérald A. “Delgamuukw Case.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., 7 June 2006. Web. 16 Sept. 2016.

Chamberlin, J. Edward. If This Is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories?:Finding Common Ground. Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2004. Print.

Huffington Post. “Gitxsan First Nation.” Gitxsan First Nation. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2016.

Nathaniel P. Wilkerson – Wilkerson Art. “Nathaniel P. Wilkerson – Gitxsan Artist – Wasco Gallery.” Nathaniel P. Wilkerson – Gitxsan Artist – Wasco Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2016.