“On the day I turned eight-five, the Prime Minister knocked at my door. She’d knitted me a jumper and the Cabinet had made some soup.
I know, this sounds far fetched to you. You remember how it used to be. When Prime Ministers never came round with soup. It’s different now”
That’s the opening few sentences from my latest short story, which is published on 1 February in Contagious Tales, the latest collection curated by Andrew Simms. I’m delighted to be part of the project. Andrew has created a lovely book and I’ve enjoyed reading it. I’ve provided a link in this blog that takes you to places to buy the book, in paperback or in e-versions.
Why did I write it? And what on earth has this writing got to do with my work in GameShift? There are a couple of answers.
The most basic reason is that I can’t help it. I’ve always written stories, they come to me and I have to write them down otherwise they nag at me.
But there’s a bigger reason too. This story is about utter transformation – someone coming to a different way of seeing the world. Throughout my life, I’ve been deeply interested in the experiences that bring about these kinds of shifts in people, and in me. The shifts in ways of seeing and understanding, the shifts in what we know to be true, important, real. These are the shifts that my work seeks to nurture, and it’s the reason I co-founded GameShift. To bring together a group of people who are skilled in creating experiences in which people can come to see the world more richly, and through that allowing all kinds of possibility to emerge.
We are in a world where we have reached the limits of our old stories, and we all need to join in making new ones.
I know that this story, this book of stories, doesn’t by itself cause a shift. But the act of story-making, imagining new stories together, is the very essence of creating the future, of allowing different possibilities and potential to come into the world. That matters, and I’m glad that we play our part in helping more of this to happen.
Do have a look at the book, the link is here.
Happy reading.