The Morgan Library & Museum – A Sanctuary of Story in New York City
13th March, 2026
During a recent visit to New York City, I stepped into a space where time does not merely pass — it gathers. The Morgan Library & Museum is not simply a museum; it is a sanctuary of memory, imagination, and architectural beauty. Originally the private library of financier and collector J. P. Morgan, the building itself is a work of art. Designed by architect Charles Follen McKim, its soaring ceilings, Renaissance-inspired frescoes, and warm wood shelves create an atmosphere that feels both intimate and monumental. To stand there is to feel the presence of centuries of human thought gathered in one luminous room.
If you would like to explore the space virtually and learn more about its architectural uniqueness, you can visit the museum’s introduction page here:
👉 https://www.themorgan.org/about/introduction
Come Together: 3,000 Years of Stories and Storytelling
The current exhibition, Come Together: 3,000 Years of Stories and Storytelling, is a powerful reminder that narrative is one of humanity’s oldest technologies of connection.
Epic works such as Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes and The Odyssey attributed to Homer are presented not simply as literary artifacts, but as living currents that continue to shape Western thought and cultural imagination.
The exhibition moves across millennia — from ancient manuscripts to modern forms — inviting us to consider storytelling as a communal act. We “come together” through narrative. Stories carry our conflicts, our longings, our humor, and our hope.
You can learn more about the exhibition here:
👉 https://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/come-together
Storytelling and the Creative Journey
Having recently published Crafting Peace through Autoethnography and Autoethnography as a Tool for Integral Human Development and Wayfinding, I found myself deeply moved by the exhibition’s framing of storytelling as both cultural inheritance and personal transformation.
Walking among manuscripts that have endured for centuries, I felt the continuity between epic traditions and contemporary reflective writing. The autoethnographic journey — writing through conflict, illness, identity, and renewal — participates in the same ancient lineage. We tell stories not only to preserve the past, but to navigate the present.
This visit coincided with a gathering at the Morgan Library organized by the Taos Institute prior to our conference at Mercy University. It felt profoundly fitting that we should meet in this cultural sanctuary to enter into dialogue about creativity, relational knowing, and the transformative power of narrative. In a library built to preserve great works, we gathered to imagine new ones.
J. P. Morgan, Tarot, and Intuition
During my travels in New York, I met an author who shared an intriguing story: that J. P. Morgan had a keen interest in Tarot and occasionally sought readings — particularly when facing important financial decisions.
Whether apocryphal or not, the anecdote opens a compelling reflection. Morgan, one of the wealthiest and most influential men of his time, understood that decision-making is never purely rational. Even titans of industry are guided by intuition, symbol, and narrative frameworks that help them interpret uncertainty.
The Morgan Library itself stands as a testament to this intersection of wealth and wisdom. Morgan did not only accumulate capital — he collected stories, manuscripts, sacred texts, musical scores, and drawings. He preserved cultural memory.
Why It Matters
In a world saturated with information, places like The Morgan Library & Museum remind us of the enduring power of curated knowledge. The exhibition Come Together underscores a truth central to my own work:
We are shaped by the stories we inherit.
We are healed by the stories we dare to tell.
We come together through narrative.
If you find yourself in New York City, I encourage you to step into this remarkable space. Walk slowly. Look closely at the illuminated manuscripts. Notice the craftsmanship. Feel the continuity of human imagination.
You may discover, as I did, that the library is not only a house of books — it is a house of becoming. Here is my latest publication. I have added a new book to my collection:
With warmth and gratitude,
Susie Riva
