Some of you will know about my passion for storytelling and how it influences the way I think about identity and creativity. The way we tell stories about ourselves, to others and in our own heads, can have a dramatic effect on our self-esteem, and our ability to engage creatively with the world around us. The other day I went to a short workshop by a very talented Israeli storyteller, Ellaya Ayal Mor, which prompted a whole new train of thought for me.
Ellaya uses physical exercises to illustrate how we get into character. She shows how changing our physiology can prompt emotional and psychological changes, new words and thoughts, and can be the start of a whole creative process. Who am I when I stand like this, when my shoulders are hunched, and my eyes are downcast? Who am I when my chest is thrust out, my hips wiggling? And who am I when I step back into the most vulnerable position of all, the neutral space that is just me.
So I asked myself: who am I if you take away what I do, the work I believe defines me? What happens when I am not working or producing or creating, when I am just being me?
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