William Kent Krueger and the power of stories

WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER AND THE POWER OF STORIES: Last Thursday, Mark and I attended a fundraising breakfast for the Friends of the Ramsey County Library. Best-selling author, William Kent Krueger, (https://williamkentkrueger.com/) was the speaker. Not only is he an excellent author, but he is also an interesting and engaging presenter. He talked about stories, their importance, how people relate to them, and how people need them. Stories can entertain us, but they can also help us discover who we are and where we have been. They can educate us, broaden our perspectives, and help us think more deeply about life. He used quotes from other authors to advance his theme.

He ended his talk by highlighting the need for all of us to unplug for a time each day: shut off the computer, the radio, the television, the video games, and yes, even the phone. Take time to enter the quiet and read or meditate or ponder. Krueger mentioned a book he had read, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, by Nicholas Carr—a book that puts forth the premise that the very nature of our electronic consumption is changing the ways in which our brains process information. Changing our brains in a way (especially for youth) whereby we will no longer possess the ability to think deeply. Chew on that for a while—the inability to think deeply. If that is true, what will our collective futures hold? Scary to think deeply about, isn’t it?

I have to get back to the quiet. I’ve been so busy with the requirements of living; with the fluff of life; with the anxiety that, at times, paralyzes me and keeps me at the computer playing spider solitaire; with … well, I’m not even sure what. I used to be more centered, and then like most people I plugged in my electronics, and in some respects, lost who I was.

If you use GPS while driving, there is always the option to recenter the map. Wish me luck as I try to recenter mine!