"Is That a True Story?"

It seems like every time I tell an oral folk or fairy tale, at least one kid in any given audience will ask, "Is that a TRUE story?" I hadn't quite found the perfect response, until yesterday, when I found myself asking that very same question. It was in a women's wisdom circle I'm part of, and my good friend CalLing was leading us in a guided meditation. It was very story-like; she led us on a journey to the center of the earth, where there is a large crystal next to a giant redwood tree. All around me were earth creatures of every sort: fairies, gnomes, leprechauns, dwarves, etc. They helped me wrap the long energy hose that comes out of my root chakra into a figure eight formation around the crystal and the redwood. Once anchored, I flew upward through the surface of the earth, and rose, rose up and up beyond earth's atmosphere, beyond even the moon, flying free in joyful delight, like stardust glistening in space, until I reached a crystal palace on a distant planet. There I sat upon a crystal chair and communed with the joyful angelic spirits that surrounded me there. Finally I began the journey back home to earth, down down through the clouds, right back into my body in CalLing's living room. When I opened my eyes again, I was full of joy at all that I'd experienced, and the first thing that popped out of my mouth was the question: "Is that a true story?" And I laughed, because my fanciful mind and heart wants to believe that in some dimension, there really is a crystal and redwood in the center of the earth, as well as friendly beneficent spirits throughout the universe.

Yesterday I'd told the story of 'Thistledown the Unicorn' to a class of 4/5th graders. The story is about a world where unicorns are hunted for sport. A pregnant unicorn gives birth quickly to her baby before becoming victim to the cruel hunter and his dogs. The baby unicorn is found by an orphaned boy, an outcast who takes care of the magical baby as it grows. Soon, however, the hunter becomes aware of it's existence as the boy and the unicorn flee the area, starting off on a journey to find a place where the unicorn can live in peace. Enduring hardship of many kinds, they finally reach a safe place. Beyond the wintery forest they find a place where springtime reigns all year. They've found the domain of a powerful wizard, who welcomes the travelers and invites them to stay. Here the orphaned boy lives and develops his own natural power as a wizard. Together they set up a sanctuary for unicorns, protected by powerful spells, which exists even until this very day. When I ended the story on this note, a boy in the class immediately blurted out, "Is that story true?" and everyone in the class laughed, then looked at me for my answer. What I said was something lame like, "Well, you know, it's a fairy tale ...." but now I think I know what I'm going to say when this question pops up again (and again).

The fact is, CalLing's journey felt wonderful; it was an uplifting meaningful experience. When it was over I wanted to feel I could revisit and explore that wondrous space, and be revitalized by it all over again. "Is that a true story?" perhaps is asking permission to believe the essential essence the person derived from it. Here's the response I have for this question now that I have a deeper understanding of it's meaning: "The parts you feel with your heart, that's where the truth of the story is."