The universe is made of stories, not atoms.
-Muriel Rukeyser
Today's quote is from American poet and political activist Muriel Rukeyser. I confess that I did not know anything about Mrs. Rukeyser before researching her for this Quote of The Day, but I find that I like her a lot. The quote itself is clearly the wisdom of a poet; the universe is obviously composed of atoms if you want to travel down the highway of strictly facts. However, this passage gives me pause to consider that, as humans, one concept connects us uniquely and ubiquitously throughout all cultures and creeds. Stories. Stop to think about how many stories you have and will absorb throughout your lifetime. Stories educate us, they entertain us, they distract us, they feed us.... The story is our means of connection to each other and the universe we inhabit. Without stories, we do not have humanity. Take that science. (And I love science by the way, remember that science is learned and applied through story).
Muriel Rukeyser (1913-1980) lived during the 20th century and is heralded for her poems about equality, feminism, social justice, and Judaism. One of her strongest works is her book The Book of The Dead which chronicles "The Hawk's Nest incident" in which hundreds of West Virginia miners died of silicosis. Her poem "To Be A Jew In The Twentieth Century" was used by the American Reform and Reconstructionist movements for their official prayer books.
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