Story Elements: Journey II: Animals

Note: This article is best experienced in rich audio.

You can hear this on substack, or by looking up ‘Story Paths’ on your favourite podcast player.

Below you’ll find an introduction, and the story prompts from this issue, so you can easily refer to them.

What inspires the journeys that we humans write into Stories? Surely the journeys of other humans inspire us. But what of other journeys? What of the journeys that we find ourselves surrounded by, if we are open to looking?

In part one of our exploration of the story element Journey, we explored journeying to and from home, in and out of danger toward particular destinations and how those destinations affect the journey. And we meandered through thoughts about pilgrimage.

When we think of journeys and stories, we may have some human biases. But what about other journeys? What about the journeys of other species and beings? Journeys surround us all the time, and seeing as we are so woven in with the rest of the living world, our own human journeys are often patterned after these wider older journeys.

So let's have a look at some of these, and we will go from small to large.

Prompts

The Queen’s Knight (ant)

Is there a human journey that parallels a worker ant's journey out into the wild? This ant goes out to gather precious things, and bring them back to hearth, home, and queen.

In human terms, perhaps this is a knight going out into the world to get a sacred item to bring life to she whom he reveres. Perhaps this is a man or woman out working in the world, then returning with money and food for their family.

What else?

Half-wild Wanderer (cat)

Consider a human journey that mirrors this cat's wild nights out. Perhaps it is a man or woman who is stuck in their day job, stuck at their desk, typing away. They are domesticated, having all their needs met with a coffee machine, mini-fridge, shower and flush toilet with a warm seat.

But suddenly it becomes too much, and the heartbeat of their wild ancestors pounds within their own heart. They flee that place and take to the night. That might be the nightlife of town they are in, or it might be still-wild places in the world.

That's one idea, riffing off the journey of the so-called domestic cat.

What comes to your mind?

Intergenerational sky pilgrimage (monarch butterfly)

What human journeys parallel this great trek?

Are there any intergenerational journeys that you are part of, something that your parents or your grandparents began, which you are continuing? Perhaps this is a journey of immigration into a new land. Perhaps this is a journey of transmuting trauma. Or of reconciliation with those whom your ancestors wronged.