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Stories are an ancient technology. For thousands of years they have helped to guide us through reality. Stories of all kinds, in many forms. From our myths, legends, parables and fairytales, to our textbooks, blockbusters, taglines and headlines; from the physical design of our homes and cities to the design of our digital products, and the stories they carry about our relationships and values. These stories surround us like water surrounds fish, run through us like coding, and underpin us like roots¹ and soil² – often unnoticed but always present – shaping how we think, feel, and act everyday. They are how we efficiently transmit information and understanding. How we maintain or change social norms. How we imagine³ and promote different ways of being. They can be used as light, web or glue.⁴ We all carry and create stories, not just the professional storytellers who work in communications, journalism, politics or the arts. Telling stories is an innate human tendency, one of the defining features of our species.⁵ A practice that can enable us to design viable systems together, and thrive. Considered amongst other technologies, stories are exceptionally powerful. As the Hopi proverb describes it: “the one who tells the story, rules the world.” But as with any power, this power is limited and must be handled responsibly.⁶ Bayo Akomolefe warns: “stories are performative, there is always something left out”.⁷ Much as our eyes can only see a narrow band of the light spectrum, stories can offer only a limited lens on an inconceivably-complex reality – stories cannot tell the whole story. Sometimes we fill our stories with truth and love in pursuit of healing, but sometimes we pollute them with fear and lies that cause harm. As you read this, our shiny new ‘AI’ technologies are making such pollution easier.⁸ So how can we ensure that our stories reduce harm and promote health, as good guides through reality? Recognizing that narratives are merely representational maps, intrinsically relational, and living entities perpetually evolving is imperative. They should accurately capture the interrelatedness of our existence within the broader cosmos, adapting in tune with the constant flux of reality. Many of our present narratives are flawed, promoting dominion and control, leading to a damaging crisis of relationships. To restore health and avert destruction, we need to realign our narratives to genuinely reflect the dynamism of our existence. We can tell ‘better’ stories, stories that soberly estimate reality, helping us form healthy relationships and design viable systems that serve life. But doing so means accepting the three things above, and that demands something else we sometimes struggle with today: humility. The humility to accept that we must navigate reality, not the arrogance to expect that we can control it. The humility to recognize our vulnerability in the face of limits, and the risk in believing we can transcend them. The humility to carry many better stories, together.