Telling stories
Yesterday we went to a Moth story telling event where regular people get together and tell true stories from their own lives. Before you go there you know what the topic is and you can prepare a five minute narration. Some people just volunteer on the spur of the moment. Once they got ten people willing to speak, they began the event. It's competitive in a fun way. Three impromptu panels of judges give scores and the highest scorer is declared the winner at the end of the evening.
Yesterday the topic was "influence", the stories were supposed to be about exerting power or being influenced. Give a single topic to a bunch of people and watch them interpret it in a wide variety of ways! It's always fascinating.
Later I said to myself, why didn't I volunteer? I could have told a story about influence... if my jet-lagged brain had been clear enough to locate and put the pieces together.
If I had indeed volunteered, what follows is the story I would have told.
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Before I begin my own story, I would like to tell a traditional Indian tale from the sage Ramakrishna. It's one of my favorites.
There was once a small town in India that could be reached only by a single paved road. The problem was that anybody taking that road had to walk by a fierce, poisonous snake. It bit anyone that came close enough. The townspeople didn't know what to do.
Luckily, a holy man came by one day, a man with special powers. He had meditated for hundreds of years in the mountains - that's how he got those powers. When the snake tried to bite him, he instantly transfixed it with his stare so the snake couldn't move. The terrified snake asked for forgiveness and promised never to bite anyone ever again.
Many years later the same holy man was passing by the town and found what looked like a ragged bundle lying by the roadside. It was his old friend, the snake! His body was full of scars and open wounds. "What happened?!" said the sage. "Keeping my promise is what happened" said the snake bitterly, "remember you made me promise not to bite anyone? Now all the kids throw stones at me and the grown ups kick me when they walk by."
"Idiot!" said the sage, "I told you not to bite. Did I say you couldn't hiss?"
I saw a dramatic demonstration of this lesson once when I was in college.
My friends and I lived on campus and went into town occasionally to shop or to visit a tailoring establishment called "King tailors". One Saturday I went with a friend - let's call her Rita. She had a dress to pick up from the tailors. When Mr. Singh the tailor brought the dress out my friend was dismayed. Everything was wrong. The neckline was the wrong shape, the sleeves were too short. "But Mr. Singh, I had really wanted a v-shaped neckline" she ventured hesitantly. Mr. Singh drew himself up to his full height. "If that's what you wanted you should have told me. We did exactly as you asked. I have the drawing right here in my notebook" he boomed. My friend backed down and went home with the less-than-perfect dress.
The very next week I happened to go back to King tailors with another friend - let's call her Tanya. Her dress was all wrong too. She was furious. "What is the meaning of this! I asked you to use off-white buttons, these are a shade too dark. And what about the collar. It was supposed to be 2.75 inches and it's only two and a half inches wide. You didn't get anything right!" And right before my eyes, Mr. Singh of the booming voice folded, "Yes maam, sorry maam, I will fix it maam". If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed the transformation.
Most of us never learn the lesson of these stories. If I tell you to use your power, most of you will be uncomfortable. We tend to equate power with force and cruelty. But hey, I'm not telling you to bite anyone. Surely you can hiss!
Yesterday the topic was "influence", the stories were supposed to be about exerting power or being influenced. Give a single topic to a bunch of people and watch them interpret it in a wide variety of ways! It's always fascinating.
Later I said to myself, why didn't I volunteer? I could have told a story about influence... if my jet-lagged brain had been clear enough to locate and put the pieces together.
If I had indeed volunteered, what follows is the story I would have told.
.................................................................................................................................................................
Before I begin my own story, I would like to tell a traditional Indian tale from the sage Ramakrishna. It's one of my favorites.
There was once a small town in India that could be reached only by a single paved road. The problem was that anybody taking that road had to walk by a fierce, poisonous snake. It bit anyone that came close enough. The townspeople didn't know what to do.
Luckily, a holy man came by one day, a man with special powers. He had meditated for hundreds of years in the mountains - that's how he got those powers. When the snake tried to bite him, he instantly transfixed it with his stare so the snake couldn't move. The terrified snake asked for forgiveness and promised never to bite anyone ever again.
Many years later the same holy man was passing by the town and found what looked like a ragged bundle lying by the roadside. It was his old friend, the snake! His body was full of scars and open wounds. "What happened?!" said the sage. "Keeping my promise is what happened" said the snake bitterly, "remember you made me promise not to bite anyone? Now all the kids throw stones at me and the grown ups kick me when they walk by."
"Idiot!" said the sage, "I told you not to bite. Did I say you couldn't hiss?"
I saw a dramatic demonstration of this lesson once when I was in college.
My friends and I lived on campus and went into town occasionally to shop or to visit a tailoring establishment called "King tailors". One Saturday I went with a friend - let's call her Rita. She had a dress to pick up from the tailors. When Mr. Singh the tailor brought the dress out my friend was dismayed. Everything was wrong. The neckline was the wrong shape, the sleeves were too short. "But Mr. Singh, I had really wanted a v-shaped neckline" she ventured hesitantly. Mr. Singh drew himself up to his full height. "If that's what you wanted you should have told me. We did exactly as you asked. I have the drawing right here in my notebook" he boomed. My friend backed down and went home with the less-than-perfect dress.
The very next week I happened to go back to King tailors with another friend - let's call her Tanya. Her dress was all wrong too. She was furious. "What is the meaning of this! I asked you to use off-white buttons, these are a shade too dark. And what about the collar. It was supposed to be 2.75 inches and it's only two and a half inches wide. You didn't get anything right!" And right before my eyes, Mr. Singh of the booming voice folded, "Yes maam, sorry maam, I will fix it maam". If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed the transformation.
Most of us never learn the lesson of these stories. If I tell you to use your power, most of you will be uncomfortable. We tend to equate power with force and cruelty. But hey, I'm not telling you to bite anyone. Surely you can hiss!
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