The Story Seller

Metaphorical Narrative

Inside your head lives a bustling marketplace. Every stall is draped with banners, each hawker waving their hands, promising secret knowledge, warning of dangers, forecasting futures that never come. One stall is louder than all the rest: the Story Seller.

It calls itself a prophet, cloaked in false gravitas, eyes wide with urgency. “I know what’s coming,” it insists. “I know what they think of you.” But watch closer—the props are cheap, the words recycled, the stall nothing but smoke and mirrors.

The prophet is no prophet. It is a mere seller, peddling stories you never ordered.

Core Insight

The mind’s chatter can feel like revelation because it speaks with such confidence. But confidence isn’t truth—it’s a sales tactic. Every forecast of doom, every imagined judgment, every “this is how it will go” is nothing more than a pitch.

When you stop buying, the seller loses power. What remains is the clean border between imagination and reality, guarded by indifference and light humor.

Saturday Experiment

1. Spot the stall. Every time your mind presents a dramatic forecast or supposed wisdom, label it: “Story Seller.”
2. Laugh at the pitch. Smile, chuckle, or even say out loud: “Nice story, not buying.”
3. Stand at the border. Imagine a clear line between imagination and reality, and place yourself firmly on the reality side.

Sunday Reflection

• In what moments did the Story Seller show up most loudly this week?
• How did it feel to respond with laughter instead of belief?
• If they are just stories, what does reality—your body, your breath, this moment—say instead?