Lessons with James

Special offer: You can discuss any of these stories with me through
a "live chat" online (usually via Facebook Messenger).

Just $10 American (500 pesos in the Philippines).

Contact me on Facebook or by email to get started!

Telling stories to monks in China, 2007

As has often been said, "The world is made of stories."

They give us our understanding of things. They give us instruction, And they give us hope.

From the books and magazines in my boyhood home; through my many years of schooling; and up until today, when my personal library here in the Philippines is home to thousands of books {not to mention hundreds more ebooks), I have been in love with stories.

I grew up in a family known for their many, many entertaining personal anecdotes, and often found myself sitting at the feet of elderly relatives, neighbors, and family friends, listening to their stories.

It's no wonder I became something of a raconteur myself. (That's a French word that means "BSer.")

I majored in literature in university, and taught (mainly English) for over thirty years, encouraging my students to draw out lessons from their own stories, and the stories they read together.

I also used personal stories as well as stories from great literature to illustrate even the most mundane grammar and vocabulary points when teaching ESL in Japan and China.

And now I am sharing stories on the internet.

During and after my years living in China, I wrote over 2,000 columns for a Chinese newspaper, most of them about stories, from Grimm's Fairy Tales to Chaucer and Shakespeare.

And my graduate studies in Christian theology and Buddhist teachings, as well as my decades-long interest in the works of Joseph Campbell, have opened up my understanding of stories as not just "mere blather," but as living, breathing entities that bring out the best--and sometimes the worst--in humanity.

You can find me on Facebook, or write to me at thebeststoriesevertold2025@gmail.com.

Or, leave a comment below, or on any story that strikes your fancy.

I'd love to discuss these stories with you!