Laura's Response to Cusick

Working with Myth
by Edmund Cusick

In this article, Edmund Cusick writes that myths are thousands of years old. He states that we are made of stories and they help us understand ourselves and our world. He states, “To tell a story is as natural to us as breathing.” He says that “as individuals we arrange the way we understand ourselves, our lives and those whose lives have touched ours into stories for our letters, conversations, and diaries.” The stories that we create about ourselves are usually about where we have come from, of what one day we may achieve, our grandest victories and hardest disappointments. These stories are what we are made from and what we continue to grow out from. Before writers there were tellers. These stories that were told began as personal anecdotes, but then progressed to tales of family and ancestors and then heroes and the great deeds of the gods. These stories make the universal morals personal. By writing the personal story, understanding the greater universe can be achieved. He advises to read myths from different cultures because some may feel more in tune with your imagination than others. The more myths you read, the more you will recognize mythic plot in other media, for example in movies and television. Edmund Cusick states that “a myth is more than a body of stories, it is a way of associating with an inner, intuitive order rather than the cold logic of fact. Myth is not driven from the world as we see it but rather by the compulsions and fears of the world behind our eyes.” Furthermore he write, “Myths offer a gateway into the worlds of symbol (a shape borrowed from the outer world but charged with inner meaning) and magic (the ability to abandon the laws of causality for the reign of supernatural order).” He has placed exercises interspersed among his text to help develop the imagination and writing of personal stories.

I believe in myth. I think the whole world is made up of myths. We all come from various backgrounds with different perspectives formed by our families and environment. The way I may look at something may be different than somebody else. I think truth is what we strive to attain, but it is infinitely impossible to attain the full truth. I believe we can get pretty close by having a larger enough group of people to believe the same thing. However, it only takes one person to not believe in something to not make it true. I like the idea of writing a personal story to understand the greater universe. I think by writing and reflecting on oneself, there may come a time when one has an Aha! Moment and things start to make more sense to oneself. I think it would help someone feel more grounded and connected to others when one has had time to reflect and tell one’s story. I think within each person lies a fascinating story burning to be told. I also believe that story can also help somebody else beyond the author itself.