I never knew my grandfathers; both died in the Second World War. As a child, I'd wonder what it would be like to have a grandfather around – to be honest, for the extra pocket money or an occasional super present. Yet with hindsight, of far greater value to me would have been getting good advice from someone with three decades' more experience and wisdom than my parents had.
What would I tell my grandson? I'd start by explaining that, like all human beings, he has a dual nature. A wise, spiritual side – compassionate, patient and conscious; and a foolish, childish side – impulsive and self-centred. Both of these natures are present in the child in roughly equal measures. But then along comes puberty, bringing on changes that tend to suppress that conscious side. Adolescents are biologically incapable of thinking long-term. They do silly things that they come to regret.
It is important, then, for the child to be aware of his awareness, to notice, to observe, to be able to quietly sense and experience pure intuitions, unclouded by the ego. To understand as much as possible about the challenges and possibilities that life holds – before the onset of puberty and the fogging of the brain by adolescent hormones which cloud judgement for several years.
Growing up, I was indeed aware of being both mądry Michaś and głupi Michaś (wise Mikey and silly Mikey). The latter child generated memories that embarrass me still, many decades later, whilst memories of the former's early insights remind me that my body may have altered over time, but my consciousness abides, true and perceptive.
What is life all about then? It certainly is a miracle. The chances that every single one of your ancestors survived and mated successfully are infinitesimally small. Ten to the power of minus thirty three. Something like that. Go back through the generations to the earliest Homo sapiens, then to the first hominids, to the first mammalians, to the first creatures that crawled on dry land, to the aquatic fauna that lived in the Cambrian-era seas, to the single-cell organisms that were the only form of life on earth for a billion years... going all the way back to the very first thing that could be called life, and capable of reproduction – every one of those matings was successful. Despite several global extinction events, diseases, predation, accidents, and in our human times, wars. The odds of that chain being unbroken, from the very first life form on our planet (the first common universal ancestor) to you, are orders of magnitude greater than the number of stars in the universe.
And yet, here you are.
Here you are indeed. Why? Accident of birth? A random, meaningless event that just... sort of... happened? Your life – indeed, all life – indeed, the entire universe – meaningless? Or meaningful? Meant to be. Despite odds that are literally incalculable, that number suggests that yes, there is a purpose, you have a purpose – you just have to find it.
So find your own way, find your place, find your voice, find who you are, find your aesthetic – your style, your preferences in art and music and architecture. Find what period in history most resonates with you. What fascinates you. What arouses your curiosity. Find your mission in life; for if there is one overarching commandment, it is for you to fulfil your potential. Don't let your talents go to waste.
This time last year:
Szczecin in the morning
Poland, the UK, Covid-19, lockdown and economic recovery
Electric cars for hire by the minute
[Long gone from Warsaw streets.]
Mszczonów – another railway junction
This time 13 years ago:
The Devil is in Doubt - short story, part I
This time 14 years ago:
Storm clouds are raging all around my door
This time 15 years ago:
Floods endanger Warsaw
This time 16 years ago:
Coal line rarity
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