How the Earth, its myths and legends came to be
Inspired by “The decision hedgehog for creative decision making” by Patrick Humphreys and Garrick Jones
Once upon a time, on a planet far away, there lived a tiny hedgehog with a voracious appetite. It ate everything. From insects to plants, if it fit in the hedgehog’s mouth, it was food. With every meal, the hedgehog grew. Soon it was big enough to eat mice and shrews, then cats and dogs, then it became large enough to eat bigger animals and plants. It grew so large that it was able to eat an entire continent in one gulp. Finally, it ate the entire planet, which left the hedgehog floating in space and still hungry.
Because space is so vast and the hedgehog had no real means of propulsion, the hedgehog was forced to survive on the tiny meteors and comets that it could grab and eat. Each space object pushed or pulled the hedgehog in a direction that the hedgehog had no recourse but to follow. Sometime, the hedgehog would come to a planet and consume it piece by piece not caring what plants or animals were on the planet.
One day, after a particularly gluttonous bout, the hedgehog wandered into a solar system whose sun gave off so much radiation that the hedgehog was forced to curl into a ball for protection. It stayed that way so long that it forgot how to unroll itself. Space dust and debris accumulated on the curled up body and its organs liquefied. Still, old habits die hard, and the echoes of a grumbling stomach could be felt on the surface while the release of hot fire representing the hedgehog’s desire flooded the land.
The body without organs gained an atmosphere and was soon alive with creatures great and small – many of whom were released at the end of a spine that pricked the real. When humans joined the planet, they learned to communicate and told stories to explain their world and origins. These stories nurtured the hedgehog and reverberated through the hedgehog’s body without organs. They emerged in different cultures as echoes and dreams creating a global collective unconscious and inspiring similar stories like that of the Great Flood.
The more stories that man told, the more affected the hedgehog became. Some days, such wonderfully new and creative stories were told that a new creature would emerge from one of the spines of the hedgehog that pricked reality. The humans would see the new creature and create even more stories around it. Leprechauns, Sasquatch, dragons, the Loch Ness Monster have all emerged from the body of the hedgehog along with every other mythical and legendary creature.
While the hedgehog is undernourished in these days of repetitive storytelling and sequels, there are many more stories, creatures and fantasies waiting to be discovered. Listen to the hedgehog and find your creative muse. The next mythical creature may come from a story of your own making.
Check out the Decision Hedgehog article
Once upon a time, on a planet far away, there lived a tiny hedgehog with a voracious appetite. It ate everything. From insects to plants, if it fit in the hedgehog’s mouth, it was food. With every meal, the hedgehog grew. Soon it was big enough to eat mice and shrews, then cats and dogs, then it became large enough to eat bigger animals and plants. It grew so large that it was able to eat an entire continent in one gulp. Finally, it ate the entire planet, which left the hedgehog floating in space and still hungry.
Because space is so vast and the hedgehog had no real means of propulsion, the hedgehog was forced to survive on the tiny meteors and comets that it could grab and eat. Each space object pushed or pulled the hedgehog in a direction that the hedgehog had no recourse but to follow. Sometime, the hedgehog would come to a planet and consume it piece by piece not caring what plants or animals were on the planet.
One day, after a particularly gluttonous bout, the hedgehog wandered into a solar system whose sun gave off so much radiation that the hedgehog was forced to curl into a ball for protection. It stayed that way so long that it forgot how to unroll itself. Space dust and debris accumulated on the curled up body and its organs liquefied. Still, old habits die hard, and the echoes of a grumbling stomach could be felt on the surface while the release of hot fire representing the hedgehog’s desire flooded the land.
The body without organs gained an atmosphere and was soon alive with creatures great and small – many of whom were released at the end of a spine that pricked the real. When humans joined the planet, they learned to communicate and told stories to explain their world and origins. These stories nurtured the hedgehog and reverberated through the hedgehog’s body without organs. They emerged in different cultures as echoes and dreams creating a global collective unconscious and inspiring similar stories like that of the Great Flood.
The more stories that man told, the more affected the hedgehog became. Some days, such wonderfully new and creative stories were told that a new creature would emerge from one of the spines of the hedgehog that pricked reality. The humans would see the new creature and create even more stories around it. Leprechauns, Sasquatch, dragons, the Loch Ness Monster have all emerged from the body of the hedgehog along with every other mythical and legendary creature.
While the hedgehog is undernourished in these days of repetitive storytelling and sequels, there are many more stories, creatures and fantasies waiting to be discovered. Listen to the hedgehog and find your creative muse. The next mythical creature may come from a story of your own making.
Check out the Decision Hedgehog article