Day

Four times of the Day

Morning, Day, Evening, Night

(reminiscences from the Droszków village - Spring 2009)

And so, the following day started. The consecutive day, picked out of the calendar. Which in turn..., I do not know it till today. Just some day of a week, month, year. They all make one whole, one continuity, as if all life was such a never ending day, despite the fact that something dies in it, and is born anew, all the time. One thing was sure, it was Spring. 

It was in this way that the Droszków village has started to exist, play its role, for me, subtly weaved with the forces of two persons, for over a year, to finally allow living in it. In the old household, from which all warmth of life has gone long ago, only the spiders were well and the mice, plundering in the leftovers,  remaining of the previous glamour; however maybe things looked variously in this respect. The legends and stories have their own way, while what has really remained, told quite a different story; and add to it, the poor, lonely dog, chained to the previous Era. Sad and old, with the plaster dropping off, a house falling into a ruin. It would maybe share the fate of many others, which have already fallen into pieces, or which await similar fate. It was a very woeful picture, in this beautiful valley, made up with natural forces, where grass, green plants and woods live, and do not care for this fact at all.

We have created this place, with our joint forces, both of us, with the help of others, for this place to come back to life, again, and so that it could harmonize with its surroundings. Many works have been already behind us, and many in front of us. Therefore, each day was totally filled with activities.

I came back to the kitchen, which was at the same time a living room, according to the old, rural custom. This is a place where meals had been prepared, eaten, when men slept, rested, met other people, washed, took bath and often slept. And it remained so. And this chamber served the similar function for us. Big, spacious, it got back to life again. We have, however, renovated a room, the sleeping room, at the first floor, with a computer office, as these are modern times, though, the beginning of the 21st Century. However, the kitchen has remained a center of our life, especially in the Winter.

The daylight has been slipping in, through small windows, noiselessly, displacing the gloominess out of the corners, the nooks; and the shapes become incisive. The silence, calmness and the Time, which is not present here, despite of the clock hanging on the wall, they all measure the rhythm of peoples activities. The heart of this place is a stove, not long ago it was old, now revived, after tearing down the old, a new one, put with the hands of a stove fitter, it shares the rests of the warmth. The time has come to wake it up. This is one of the first activities. After choosing ash, there is a ceremony of setting new fire. Anyhow, any activities, which take place here, in this place, in this valley, in the Droszków village, have been anointed with uniqueness, nothing becomes routine.  So the tiny wood chips, the stockpile of which has been dried on it, are being placed on barbeques, and you must know in what way they can catch fire from one touch of the lit match. Little flames occur, over particular tiny wood pieces. This lasts for a while, as in a moment all the inside is filled with bright of a living fire. I close up the small door, one can hear scratches and a roar of the fire. Now it says this is its time. The fire warms up the stovetop, where the pots with water already stand. Slowly, the warmth extends through all the chamber. As a living creature with a soul, it is present here.  

Now there has come a time for animals, who remind us of themselves, of their existence, under the door, in the hallway, This is a "Teddy bear", who regained its freedom and who goes its own ways. He has his own world, but he also has already got attached to us, and he likes to be fondled. By the way, not only him, as the cats "Maciuś" and "Tygrys" ("Tiger"), are quite the same, they also fawn, and soon after they disappear for half a day. Or they lounge in the sun, watching what we do and where we are. When I prepare food for them, or when the beloved does it, they hover around, between our legs, they speak, wipe against us, to suddenly concentrate on their bowls. These are the first creatures, who are with us. Maybe there will be more of them. The Little sheep, a goat, a cow, Hacul horses... we shall see. 

To commune with animals, is one of the ways to the Understanding, to get cleaned of all the dust of this, well, how much haywire, epoch. Here a man is not their master, nor the master for himself, instead there is co-existence. One is not a master of anybody, nor of anything. And when you are this way, from the inside of one's heart there flows love for everything, the independent attachments arise, there comes deep consciousness of co-existence and a way through which one strides...

The "Teddy Bear" just disappears, behind the back of the house, it feels the urge to go somewhere, the cats full with food, lengthen, and they will also sneak away, soon, according to their nature, into the meadows. 

And finally, a while for us. The morning toilette. The bowl on the bench with hot water, soap and only this much, as is really necessary. There was a time, when one walked to the well to get water, and there was only as much of it, as men brought. Now, we have a running water, from the tap, but we are left with the fact, that we do not use, in fact, more of it. When nothing runs a man, when he lives in peace, there comes time for everything. So we see each other in activities, which we undertake. We notice every touch, either planned or not, and suddenly it turns out that all this has inhered the unspeakable beauty.

The dance of hands, legs, torso, head and the enchantment over all this miracle. This enchantment keeps accompanying us, all the day, and continually reminds of itself. every now and then. Finally, there is breakfast on the table. We say little to each other, all the rest has been expressed by gestures, expression on face, radiating with the openness, where the words are redundant, the words like: trust, devotion, affection... And the breakfast... simple, healthy, and... modest. Bread, butter, tea, shallot, sometimes scrambled eggs, or cheese, eaten in silence and affirmation of tasting. I do not know, how to express it; but there is nothing in it, like degenerated indulgence for the palate itself; it is rather the ordinary filling oneself with energy, to live longer, with a feeling of beauty, goodness, and I do not know what else...       

The Sun ascends further up, so, equipped with quite new forces, we take up the challenges of this very day, emerging from the natural needs. There are works, which we negotiate together, but there are many, which have been naturally ascribed to the beloved or to me. These duties, like any other, when they have been undertaken with the feeling of understanding of their essence, and with the total acceptance, bring joy resulting from "being", the co-existence with Nature, which all just have simmered in the Spring's awaking. Each duty, even the hardest, when it is made with concentration, cautiously. with respect to one's body, the body, which takes up the same challenge, together with us, as one whole, brings the awaited result, in the right time. There is no place for the dictator's pressure from the Mind, as it is a bad advice maker, and it is a reason of these and other failures. So, if one works in deep understanding, then each difficulty is conquerable, and there is also a place, in this activity, for rest, reflection, seeing all phenomena, which have been taking place at every moment, all the time.

People look for happiness. They sometimes wander throughout all World, to find it and it is not given to them. They look for happiness in "possessing things", and it seems to them, that a particular, consecutive item, will finally free them from the torments of life, that it will bring them the awaited freedom and joy, but this still does not happen.  They say, this and that is "ours", they cut themselves from others, out of fear of loss. They have an impression that they are better than others, and in fact they only hide what is their poverty. Finally, tired, they slowly get extinguished. Embittered, acrimonious, they slowly get blind, deaf, and they start to place their last hope in Paradise, which one day, as they hope, will arrive. They do not know that this Paradise is here on Earth, at every moment, and there is no else. There is no other place but here and now. 

So how to get to this place, the place existing here and now? The beginning is in ourselves. It is very simple, and simultaneously so few have been successful. One must get free from his own mind, his fears and anxieties, dependencies on authorities. And therefore, also from his own "dictator's pressure" and start living in freedom. When a consecutive step is made, the understanding comes of a lot of things, and sometimes of everything. And so the man comes back to the paradise lost, or in other words he starts to deal with the Existence, the essence of everything, and it becomes one within multiplicity.

But coming back to the day of today, it is just this kind of places, like the one in the Droszków village, which can make this "getting to know" easier, where, in a natural and conspicuous way, still a lot happens and comes into sight, like a living table with huge capital letters of Truth, which is eternal.

It is enough to start to watch the Nature closer, to notice, for instance, the array of colors and patterns and butterfly wings stencils, meadow's flowers, etc, etc. When one starts to see any movement and hear voices, which it has generated, then we become captivated with charm. It is incredible, unspeakable, that this World has been dancing in fact, with patterns, music, touch, movement, singing and colors.

The Droszówka river speaks, gurgles, mutters, but it can also blast with its huge power. We had an occasion to get to know it, from this side. The smoothness and power is inherent in everything what surrounds it, therefore having eyes and ears open and living alone, we become great and mighty. And all of this is one whole. 

Isn't a reaper with his scythe a dancer? Have I not been dancing, too, while gathering stones? And cultivating the soil, growing plants, collecting herbs, forest nap, cooking, cleaning, walking in the mountains, etc, etc, do I also not dance? And dancing, I do not dance...?

I have hardly noticed when the Sun has announced its halfway, on this hemisphere, in the Zenith, over the Droszków village. I hid in the shadow. Nearby, also in the shadow, there lied down the Teddy Bear. What a relief..., the trembling muscles have fondled me, with their tiredness. I sank in for a moment in motionlessness, non-existence, feeling and not expressing anything, as If I did not exist. This has been like a state of bliss, from which I emerged after a while and I reached for a flute, lying beside me, and the single sounds flew into a space, and tears flew along the cheeks. I got moved then, not for the first time, anyway. I remembered the words, which earlier had already reached me:

- I will go to prepare dinner.

I looked after her, when she walked away..., still one more flower of this word... I also got up. I gathered the tools, and I brought them back to their place. As it was very hot this day, I hid in the workshop and I got involved in something else. The Sun slowly moved over the horizon, signaling the dinner time coming up, so I dropped home and I again heard the warm words, being said almost with whisper: 

- I was just going to go out and get you, because dinner is ready. 

And she sealed it with a warm smile. 

- Love..., here I am. 

We sat at the round table, facing each  other. After a while of concentration, we started to eat. As it is usual for a morning time, it was simple, healthy, and the main component this time were potatoes and spring vegetables, from the garden. The one-meal dinner, quite satisfactory.

When we finished, we did the routine washing-up together and we lied down, to allow our bodies to breathe. In a hug, in the silence of the early noon, hearing our steady calm breaths, we let our consciousness rest for a while. However, the inside alertness did not let itself be carried away, and after not long time it brought us back to the reality. This was often a moment, when with gestures and kisses we thanked each other, we gave these mutual gifts to each other, and later with tea, or coffee, we got out of the house, to sit on a quasi-bench, or to the quasi-arbor near the garden. Then we talked of the achievements, observations of the day, or we sat in silence. 

The Midday also has its time, its own perspective. It provides life to Nature, the birds start to sing again, there is full of them, everywhere. The Teddy Bear goes out for his next expedition, the cats disappear somewhere in the meadow and they plunder there the Sun slowly moves above the Kozia Górka Mountain (The Goats’ Mountain), and it will soon hide behind it. The shadows get longer, and the slopes of the Dranica Mountain and the South mountain ridge just gleam, all of them bathed in the whole brightness of the rays, which have now wrap them up. We can hear the cuckoo, a barking dog, somewhere far away, and many other voices, hard to classify. Anyway, there is no need for it. I got up. - Yes I am at home. I thought. - Not being in a stone house, or a wooden house, still I am at Home.       

I set out along the path around, wishing to go around the whole House, dropping into each single corner, watching each spring, plant, admiring the scenery. Somewhere half the way, I looked behind, and on the path, trodden down, behind me, there marched our cats, followed by the Teddy Bear, sniffing some grass-stalks, and finding mysterious scents. Incredible, they found themselves out of themselves, just like that, here, nearby. On my way back, I dropped into a garden, the kingdom of of my beloved, to which she has given all her heart, caring for it, nurturing it and talking to the plants, growing there, and preventing them in different ways. She has sacrificed her attention not only to the decorative ones, but to all, which live for our profit. They know it, and though sometimes they are chimeric, they still pay back to her with their gratitude, in a bonny way. And again there comes an illumination, there is not only the two of us, there is all this World around and we are with it... We are not alone.

My beloved has been already here, with all her attentiveness, with them. So I said to her, with an equal care and softness, though the words were already unnecessary

- I shall go and prepare still some wood, for fire, and to hammer the scythe for the tomorrow mowing

She turned out her head, from above plants, and she looked into my eyes. I saw a mild, concentrated expression on her face, and the warmth which radiated from her.

So first I chopped down the small trunks, along the rings of the tree, into the logs, and tiny splints for the kindling, then I woke up our stove, so that it would give us, the warmth, longed-for, deserved, after our come back to this old, stone house. And finally I squatted down, in the place at chamber, I put the scythe down, with its blade towards the anvil and I started to hammer it with a special small hammer, drawing its blade to the front, sharpening it this way. It was a time of acting, concentrating attention on the accuracy, precision, in the calmness of my brain, despite the uniformity of this undertaking.

When we finished our work, almost simultaneously, the dusk approached, all the luminances have been extinguishing, one after another, also the shadows disappeared, the night clouds approached too, most of the birds got silent. The following day has arrived. 

 

November 2010

 

Author: Leszek Wieliczko

 

 

 Translated by: Agnieszka Zell