The Storyteller's Intent

I carry the business of life, the busy-ness of life, with me wherever I go. My thoughts flit between what I need to do tomorrow and what I need to do today, next month, and three months later. I ruminate on what happened yesterday and conversations that took place somewhere in the distant past.

Visualizing a great sack, a cloth sack—tied at the four corners—full of all these hopes, anxieties, regrets, and expectations. I put this down on a cornerstone. I leave this for the laundress who will undoubtedly wash all of the thoughts, starch them, fold them, and tie them back up into a clean cloth—only for me to again unpack them and now put them away in my closet.

In my closet, these thoughts—or clothes—live on, waiting for the day I will put them on again. Instead, can I take these thoughts and place them in a donation pile? Then, do my problems become the problem of others?

So instead, I take those thoughts and decide to put them to use. Fill a gorge, a hole, repair a street. Use those items to instead of ruminate—build and create other thought forms, ones that are, instead of being problematic to those who should read them—instead are poignant, thoughtful, examples, for living, and I become the mentor, the storyteller, the coach. I take those experiences and churn them into stories. My stories.

In one story, the parents come down with pink eye while supporting their child's independence and cultural awareness. In another story, a woman learns that what she wants most in life is both a blessing and a burden. Another story paints the picture of motherhood, while another paints the picture of relationships.

Further, every day I am struck by the beauty that is the natural world from which I am a part and apart.

All of these blend into the contextual layers of the stories I tell.

Circling the runway is a series of blog posts I write often when trying to get into my creative mindset or to boost creativity. The prompt is—what is my intent for today. I am allowed to write whatever comes to mind, and if it's worth sharing—I hit publish.

D.M. De Alwis
Richmond Hill, Ontario
18 May 2026

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