morgan schatz blackrose

stories in my life
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Storyteller, Musician, Author and Traveller. www.schatzblackrose.com All stories are copyright of Morgan Schatz Blackrose Available for performances, concerts, workshops worldwide

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The Burden

The recent near death experiences of my two friends has counseled me to live in the Present. After all where else is there to live? In dreams? In memories? And yet for many people, anywhere else but the Present is preferable. I understand escape. Water is a conduit for my daydreams and I allow myself to enjoy them when immersed in a bath, shower, or even when washing up. Pulling out the plug ensures my immediate return to the Present. After nearly being run over by a bus, I make sure I daydream in a safe space. My burden is the Past. In the guise of Memory it stalks me like Poverty in the Eastern European folktale, plaguing me until I am desperate to be rid of its presence. In the folktale Poverty is eventually outwitted and leaves his host to afflict another poor soul, while the previously cursed man can now live the rest of his life free of want.  But I find that my battle to repel the incursions of Memory into my Present, is like that of Heracles and the Hydra; when he severs one head two more take its place. But like the man beset by Poverty, Heracles too manages to defeat the Hydra. So what weapons does an 'anxious worrier' choose to prevent being under siege from Memory? Rationality, Compassion and a Story. But I have no illusions about this battle. On occasions Sisyphus comes to mind, but I prefer to think of the following Zen story to assist me in letting go of the Past and living in the Present.

Carrying a Burden

There were once two monks, who upon reaching a river met a young woman who wanted to cross. However she was fearful that the current was too strong and would wash her away. The older monk then asked her to climb upon his back and he helped her across the river. When they reached the other side, the woman climbed off the back of the monk, thanked him and continued her journey. For some time after that, no conversation passed between the two monks, until finally the younger monk stopped the older one and spoke angrily to him.
'You know it is against our spiritual order to have physical contact with women, but you picked up that woman and carried her across the river!'
'Yes I did,' said the older monk, 'but I set her down on the river bank, whereas you are still carrying her.'

Photo by Roman W. Schatz
River

Filed under  //  memory   switzerland   zen  
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The Storytellers Wish

I recently told stories to a group of Middle School students at a Bilingual School in Switzerland. At the end of the concert one of the students asked why I told the particular stories I did.
It was an insightful question because the stories we choose to tell reflects our purpose as storytellers.  
I have a wide repertoire of tales which allows me many choices, but even then I cannot guarantee that every story I tell will satisfy every listener.
I refer to Aesop's tale of The Man, the Boy and the Donkey and the accompanying moral; you can please some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time. However, I maintain that I only tell 'good stories'  drawing on folktales as the bulk of my repertoire. I was able to answer my listener specifically: I told the story of the importance of knowing two languages to celebrate bilingualism, The Nix of the Zügersee is a Swiss legend and therefore important for you to know of as this is the country you live in, The Lion on the Path demonstrates an African tradition of storytelling with an mbira; Poule and Roach is a cautionary love story, Two Goats on the Bridge is a tale that shows how to share a tale across cultures, in this case using three languages; I wanted to finish with an Australian song; Inanay  by Yorta Yorta performer, Lou Bennett, is based on her mother's lullaby sung to her as a child. Three of the stories could be called 'love stories', each with similarities but different outcomes. Though I didn't consciously choose these three tales to draw comparisons, I have learnt that listeners can create their own meaning from the juxtapositioning of different stories.
As I usually have an hour or less to enlighten, entertain and educate my listeners, I often feel like Elijah when he was visited by the angel. Let me tell you what happened. 

Elijah was blind. Elijah was impoverished. Elijah was childless. One day an angel appeared before him and said that he could have one wish. 
The following night the angel returned to ask Elijah what he wished for? His wish, quite simply was this:

I wish to see all my children eating from golden plates.

I am not nearly so wise as Elijah, or concise, but my wish as a storyteller is to fulfil a number of listener expectations with my story selection and presentation. My storytelling experience allows me a certain knowledge of how different tales are received by different audiences, but I am always ready to be surprised. Each listener takes what they need at the time of the telling. If my stories have touched my listeners, then my wish has been fulfilled.

Water Enso Photograph by Roman W. Schatz
Water-enso1

Filed under  //  bilingual   elijah   roman schatz   school   switzerland  
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