Born this way

Nature versus nurture, heredity versus learned behavior, genetics versus environment, what is cause and what is effect?  The argument goes on and on for any number of conditions, behaviors, traits, and pathologies, but there is probably no easy, black and white answer, unless 'a little of both' counts, except for perhaps one very odd condition: the undying and indefatigable love of stories.  I don't care how old you are or what culture you are from, you love stories, that or you're lying to yourself and everybody else for some really strange reason.  Be it television, movies, books, poetry, anime, music, comic books, a real live bard or storyteller, history, politics, even social media, sports, and celebrity gossip, everywhere you look, there's a story, and we as humans are addicted to it.  But why?

'He has set eternity in the hearts of men.'

I first ran across that little snippet while reading a very practical and bestselling book about a decade ago, I don't remember much else about the book, but that particular verse stood out to me and has haunted me ever since.  The author was quoting from the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes (3:11), a book thousands of years old that wrestles with the question: what is the purpose of life?  The same question each and every human has wrestled with since the dawn of time.  It is why we love stories: they help us process and understand ourselves, the world around us, and life in general.  It was Jesus's favorite means of helping others understand God and His plan for Everything.

Or we could just be accidental blobs of organic goo that just happen to like epic tales?  I never met a computer, a chemistry experiment, a math problem, or a chimp that was fond of a good story; it is the one thing that sets us apart, makes us unique, is completely inexplicable within our natures from the rest of the created order.  We are dreamers, adventurers, starry eyed children, and there's a Reason for it.

Two timely articles you might find interesting:

On Tolkien and a possibly wasted life?
More on Tolkien and the power of story.