It is almost impossible for any given individual to separate the "narrative" they have embraced from the "fact of existence".
In the first place an individual's "narrative" tends to be invisible to them because they consider themselves to be a repository of truth. In the second place an individual's "narrative" tends to be comfortable like a tailor-made suit. In the third place people generally aren't very bright.
It is not that narrative is an evil that must be at all costs avoided, but rather that narrative is an inevitability that must be recognised and understood. Buddhism is a narrative; Catholicism is a narrative; Communism, Capitalism, Ism-ism. None of these Isms are capable of expressing esoteric fact because they are naturally limited by their attempt to appeal to limited understanding.
The way insanity is recognized is that some mind has succumbed to a distinctly personal narrative. The entire efficacy of propaganda is the human mind's appetite for a self affirming narrative. The efficacy of monastic austerities is the control of narrative. The essence of enlightenment is the abandonment of narrative.
Simply be aware.
And before you know it a narrative will emerge.
