16. In the flickering glow of the candle
„I do not understand,“ Samuel said, shaking his head as he entered the empty store that evening with Rebekka.
„What do not you understand?“ Lilith asked, who had heard this last sentence, but not what had been said before.
„That people are constantly shopping,“ Samuel answered succinctly.
„You’re also running shopping,“ Ruben said with a brief glance at the bags, which Rebekka just turned off, amused.
„That’s right, we were shopping. There are still enough things to buy or believe to have to buy, „Rebekka told him,“ We just did not run but went. Quite normal. „
„Or at least we tried,“ Samuel interjected.
„Why not?“ Lilith asked.
„Imagine you’re in this shopping center. We went there because it’s convenient to get everything you need in one place and not have to go back from Pontius to Pilate and back again, „Samuel explained.“ But there were a lot more than us other people. They were, of course, totally different, as people are different. But there was one thing, as far as I could see, and I looked closely at what everyone had in common. „
„And what was that?“ Lilith asked, „Come on, now it’s not so exciting and let the art breaks.“
„I just wanted to make sure you were listening to me anyway,“ he replied, with this roguish, young smile, „They were all grumpy.“
„And it always means going shopping is so funny, relaxed, and is such a cool, great leisure activity,“ replied Rebekka, „But why are all so dogged and grim. Why do they have to bump and jostle, always to get too short in fear, or to go two minutes later than they think they are. „
„It was a terrible turmoil. I could not wait to get back, „Rebekka said.
„But where do all the aggression come from? Why are people so badly tempered, at a time when they really should be happy and bring joy to others, „Samuel said,“ Instead, they only bring about disunity and discord. In this respect it really does not surprise me anymore that people only look forward to when Christmas is finally over. But how can this happen? Or why does it happen every year, always anew, even if one should actually know better? Why is it so hard to change something, and to make it so that it is really joy and not frustration? „
How far did one have to go back with his thoughts, to find a Christmas time, which meant joy? Was it really that it was the last in children’s days. Where exactly on the way have we lost the indifference of pure joy? Where have we forgotten to see?
„And in the midst of this turmoil, where you’re just pushed further and you’re not going to yourself, I suddenly had to slow down,“ Rebekka said, „I would have run a small child.“
„It was a mess,“ Samuel confirmed. „The people began to shout loudly, because suddenly there appeared an obstacle, which didn’t belong there, which did not seem to remove, just to block the way. And you did not react at all. That’s how I stopped also. „
„Shortly, I was also annoyed,“ Rebekka admitted, „And I was already on it and there to say something wasteful, to abreact my anger. But before I could do it, I looked at the little child that had stuck in the middle of the bustle, in the middle of the vortex, and it seemed as if it was in the midst of the most beautiful landscape Or anything else. And I saw the face of this child. It was pure joy. This sparkle in the eyes and the laughter. But what could be so pleased with in the midst of this drive that one forgot everything round about. „
„Yes, I asked myself,“ Samuel added, „but it was so easy to discover. I followed the child’s gaze like a signpost. It led me to the many colorful lights with which the shopping center was decorated, the lights and angels and Christmas balls, and all sorts of other fanciful things. I had not noticed at the time that the decoration was there at all. And there was a little son of a child who drew my attention to it, a little son of a child, who taught me to see what I had forgotten to see. „
„And that shared us with a joy we had long since lost,“ added Rebekka, „It was really contagious. And so we stood there. We actually did nothing but stand there and look. Others remained, one or the other. Many were not, but a few. The others hurried on. That`s how it is. Some can find seeing again and others can not. „
„And the joy came with the pause. The joy came with forgetting, „said Lilith thoughtfully.“ Forget about the hubbub around you, forget about the future what you really wanted to do, forget about the future, to come to consciousness in the fullest sense of the word. „
„Contemplation as a moment in which one is and allows to dwell in it. To reflect on the here and now, in which one is standing, to rest, „said Ruben,“ and by doing so, we give ourselves with the moment in which we are. The gift that life opens up to us at every moment, and we often reject it so often that we no longer know how to accept it at all. „
„We need young children to point out how easy it can be. Simply simple, „Rebekka said.
„And the simplest thing often seems to be the hardest,“ Samuel said, „as if we were distrustful of simplicity.“
„Why then do we not let the whole gift shop of things be, and give us the reflection of the moment in which we are together, the moment of contemplation, reflection on the joy and the tranquility of being here and now.“
And because there was nothing that spoke against it, they offered themselves this evening, in this togetherness of peace and quiet, reflection on the joy and the warmth of one another, while a candle was burning on the table, still and gently and warmly.