Capturing stories: the tale of the blue-footed booby
October 24, 2018
I am a storyteller in everything I do. I tell stories in my work at the castle, in my books and in my blogs. I love researching and unraveling mysteries and doing so I find stories everywhere. Sometimes I share these stories so others also can discover, marvel and enjoy. Searching for stories is a way of life. It’s about having your senses wide open to listen, to feel, to experience, and to capture stories that hover and roam everywhere. Sharing stories makes the power of stories tangible.
About 70% of everything that people know comes from stories and not from factual summaries. Stories also contain facts, but those facts are packed in emotions and recognizable situations and thus come to life. Stories explain relationships, clarify goals and give meaning. You can also create a new future with stories; by imagining things that are not there yet. You can dream en create your future.
Stories are the form in which we store information in our brains and share them with others. A story helps to keep our memories. Stories offer a cohesion. This allows us to understand, remember and tell something better. And there is also the relaxing and entertaining side of stories. And sometimes a little magic happens. Then you are traveling and suddenly you catch a story in photos. I captured this story on the island Bachas in the Galapagos Archipel, Ecuador.
Imagen, you are a blue-footed booby and just before sunset you sit quitely on a rock, reflecting on your day. All of a sudden a big pelican lands next to you, far too close, in your personal zone. After all, everyone knows that all pelicans have brain injuries from the violence of the dives with which they crash into the sea. From 10 meters high they dive down at at speed of 95 kilometers per hour. You do not want to be associated with that as a righteous blue-footed booby. So you ask him to leave, but he remains seated. You call in help from a friend, and you both tell him to leave, but the pelican stays where he is. You get angry and sharpen your beak, still, the pelican is not intimidated and stays calmly where he is. Then you have to think for a while, you scratch yourself behind your ear in the hope of coming up with a new strategy. Then you repulse that cheeky pelican verbally in such a way that he finally flutters away. Finally you, have your rock all to yourself again, to recover from your busy day.
