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Good morning. The UN secretary general issued a stark warning this week. Forget global warming, “the era of global boiling has arrived”. But no matter how much scientific data we’re given or graphs we’re shown, it seems to be difficult to get people to engage meaningfully with a response. How will humanity be moved to do something about it? Could stories be the way forward? It’s quite a timely approach, as we’re currently in the midst of South Asian Heritage Month and this year’s theme is ‘Stories to Tell’. Stories have been told by humans for millennia. By capturing people’s imaginations, they help us to better understand the world around us, as well as learn lessons from others in a way that resonates with us. Faith traditions often use stories to impart teachings and values to their followers. Be it through the parables of Jesus or the janamsakhis or life-stories of Guru Nanak, they inform us of what we can learn from the experiences of those who created the faiths in the first place. For me, one of the most powerful stories from Guru Nanak’s life is of when his father gave him 20 rupees to buy some goods at the market. He wanted the Guru to learn how to become an entrepreneur, a merchant, by striking a good deal and selling items on at a profit. On his way to the market, the Guru encountered a group of people who had not eaten for several days, and he ended up using the money to get food, water and clothes for them. When the Guru returned home emptyhanded, his father was annoyed and asked where the goods were. The Guru replied by saying he had struck a true deal and earned a true profit through feeding and clothing the needy. That story captures the essence of the Sikh concept of sewa or the selfless service of others. It helps explain why Sikhs around the world run langar kitchens to serve hundreds of thousands of meals every day to anyone who goes to a gurdwara, regardless of who they may be. It also teaches Sikhs to be humble and put others before themselves. All from a single story. Now I could have just told you about those values and morals, but without the story, it just wouldn’t have had the same impact. That is the power of storytelling. It takes people on a journey and can sometimes change the ways in which they live their lives or view the world. The wildfires in Europe and beyond are frightening, and yet the UN secretary general also said this week that “the level of climate inaction is unacceptable”. If we want to move people to act, perhaps, just perhaps, we need to start by telling powerful stories about climate change that truly resonate.