Exactly one month ago, I turned 67. Few people brought me a present, because my friends accept that I already have all I need. And that I do not care for useless gimmicks . I appreciate that this is how my friends treat me.
Luckily, once in a while, there is a person who makes an exception to this rule.
🙂 I am grateful for these exceptions, too. Paul, for instance, gave me the book:
A Day With Love by Moshen Charifi
It was a good thing to get this book because I often have the impression that I was born into this world equipped with many eyes. I already saw and experienced very much with my eyes.
Unfortunately, however, those eyes closed more and more as my life continued. Perhaps it was because of my socialization at home or at school or for whatever reasons.
Now, as I grow older, I get the impression that my eyes re-open to some extent. It is a process that you probably can also describe as “learning”. Consequently, I believe that “learning” can also be a synonym for “living”.
To say it in a nutshell: so far, I read half of the book and I notice that reading it has again re-opened several of my closed eyes. And this is how it also, again, added to my happiness.
The content of the book is quite banal, and yet it is totally breath-taking.
On a beautiful summer day, “LOVE” and “INFATUATION” meet to go for a walk. “Infatuation” wants to learn from “LOVE” and “LOVE” – who formerly also used to be “INFATUATION”, is happy to share her knowledge with “infatuation”.
While walking through the wonderful summer, they get into a dialogue about love. The experienced “LOVE” supports “INFATUATION” as she seeks it.
This dialogue turns into a wonderful and great metaphor that helped me to become a little more peaceful and happy.
I almost wrote “I found a little more love”. However, this sounds a little too strong for me and I also do not yet know if I am already prepared to accept such a huge thing (or if I will ever be).
The dialogue between LOVE and INFATUATION is full to the brim with small but wonderful insights. For instance, “infatuation” explains one of her weaknesses by the fact that she does “not want to lose face”.
However, the reply LOVE gives – in my words – is that you cannot lose face, you can only lose the mask that camouflages your face. Actually, I do, indeed, have many masks and I am always happy if I manage to lose one of them.
This is only one example out of many insights, all of which are part of the metaphor.
For me, the special quality of the dialogue between INFATUATION and LOVE is remarkable and particularly beautiful. It is the ideal pattern of how peaceful communication can be. It has not happened often that I witnessed and understood in such a nice way how non-violent communication can work.
I was deeply moved by how LOVE kept trying to hand her experience and knowledge down to “infatuation” in a way that was not indoctrinating. Without any form of arrogance or presumptuousness. How LOVE manages to relate to INFATUATION. And how she absolutely refrains from hurting or making INFATUATION look smaller because of her superiority.
And it is just as nice to read how INFATUATION reacts, replies after thorough contemplation and asks clever questions. And how LOVE again deals in a precise way with these questions.
Rarely have I understood so well – without any theoretical indoctrination – what the words consideration and communication mean.
Now I will imitate Paul and give the book to a few other people.
RMD
(Translated by EG)
P.S.
My only regret is that I have never met the author Moshen Charifi. But who knows, perhaps that, too, will happen one day!
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