A Myth is simply a story that tries to explain the way the world works. We behave in certain ways due to the myths that we support. Myths, in and of themselves, have nothing to do with religion. Myths transcend religion and affect each and everyone one of us, whether we have religious convictions or not.

The word myth is a very strong and powerful word. It means a lot. It is often a scary word to people who don’t truly understand what a myth is. As such, people have fought hard to devalue this word. This may not have been a conscious decision but it has happened. Myth is now equated with the word lie or untruth, which really does a disservice to us all. That is why I often don’t even use the word anymore. It has lost its meaning.

This is why I use the word story instead. Unfortunately, this word also can be equated with untruth but I don’t think the two have become synonymous in our culture just yet. You will often hear people ask if a story is true or if a movie is based on a true story. As such, we almost always believe that there is a true story.

Our legal system works at trying to get to the true story. A judge and jury listen to both sides of a story and then come up with what they believe to be the one true story. Of course, in court, there are often more than just two sides. The plaintiff and the defendant are often entrenched in their own specific and limited view of the situation but experts, and witnesses often bring up a myriad of other viewpoints and angles at which to look at the story.

In my exploration of the nature of reality, I believe that we need to look at a variety of writings and viewpoints. I feel like I can never fully research my thesis here but I think that I have made some great discoveries and have come upon some startling insights.

We use stories to make sense of our world on a daily basis. Everyone does, without exception. It was the one true and common thing that we all share in this world. And that alone makes it a topic worth our study and attention.