We all live for something. We all die for something. We all have a story that structures our view of reality so we can make sense of everything that’s happening around us. It determines what we eat, how we dress, who our friends are and every other single detail of our lives, even if we aren't aware of it. Without a story we can't comprehend the reality that's unfolding around us and eventually we will lose our minds.
When put like that, in a way stories are more fundamental to our life than the basic need of food, clothing and shelter. After all, if there is no story to live for, why should we even care for anything that's beyond ourselves? “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (Isa. 22:13). The lack of a story becomes paradoxically a story in itself, although it's an empty one devoid of life.
My main way of telling stories is through the medium of digital images. In a way the use of video is but a vehicle for me to hopefully make people yearn for that which is eternal and unseen, the true life. At the same time I'm finding myself riding along with them on this journey with the hope of finding that story that we can both live and die for. After all, "the business of the christian is nothing else than to be ever preparing for death" (St. Ireneaus). The present life is but a dim image, reminiscent of the life that is to come. Like a drop of water from the sea and a grain of sand, so are a few years among the days of eternity (Sirach 18:10). Death is the gateway unto life and "since it is of course necessary to die, let us die that we may live" (St. Basil of Caesarea), doing the unavoidable willingly.
If my storytelling could contribute even one single step in that direction for somebody, all the efforts would be worth it.