Pr. Dr. Dorin Octavian Picioruș
Fragrance
(novel)
*
When Dumitru died, then his wife, the Troița was left uncared for. No one assumes it, because it is a theological reality. To assume it, you must begin to walk on the path of God, on the path of the Church. And as the path of the Church becomes thinner like a thread, the obsolescence of the Troița does not show the lack of reality of faith, but the importance of the faithful man in the life of the world. For the faithful man raises the Troițe[1], he keeps them alive, he grows with them. And no one can mimic faith in a factual way, because the faith is alive through its deeds. The interview lasted five or so hours and received a lot of reactions, as expected. The need for change is real as long as it has to do with you. The religious authoritarianism is the greatest scourge in the life of the Church. For it demands repentance by the hectare, by the command. And how people change in their own very personal way, from one day to the next and through many miracles of God, the demand for immediate change of people is an inhuman utopia. Because people pretend that they „have changed”, that they „are others”, if they are commanded „to be others”. But the repentance is God’s touch on you, it is His enlightenment in your life, through which you wake up from ideologizing. Without the real entry of God into your life, you do not have a churchly life, but a parodying of it. And any parodying of godliness is blasphemic.
It’s an autobiographical novel, The Journeys of my life[2]. Because it’s a transformation of them into understanding. What matters are the minutes, the hours, the things written then, the photos, the locations of each individual trip. Because they bring me the reality of the journey from past to present. Their subsequent enrichment with information is a fulfillment for them and for me. Because I root the details in history, but also in my own lifetime. And so I can contribute to the history of places, but also to their discovery and rediscovery, because the biography of each journey sparks your interest in many ways. What my life at the Hotel looked like, in the city, what I visited, how I felt, who I met, what I understood. It’s a book by author, by eyewitness, by understander of things. And not because I get to exclusive places, but because I see personally the places that others seem common. And I don’t think we should be afraid of the commonness of things, but only of our conformity to a common opinion. Because the common opinion is not our opinion, of each one of us. Our opinion is the one formed at the face of place, when you talk about what you feel and believe. About what you understand.
The multitude of faces that remain in your mind, when you start studying their physiognomy. The eyes first, the nose, the cheekbones, the mouth, what expresses their face. But what are all these things without their soul, without the one who makes everything interesting, makes everything mean something? The destructurings of faces in art speak to the passions of our souls. For the problem is not that we have two or three faces in the same face and that deformities are ugly, but that the passions in our soul, although extremely ugly, seem „tolerable” to us when we have them. Why do we put up with the stench in our house, even if it’s intolerable?! Why do we finally learn to accept the whole disgusting state of affairs, when we should be protesting, not being silent at all?!!
The Teachers’ Protest was the most talked about event of september 8th. They spoke about the unacceptable things that were done to their address. My wife was there and took those steps of dignity together with everyone else, because to be solidary means looking towards the same scope. And the scope is the education of children! When you’re a learner, you don’t realize how important this whole thing about learning, about preparing for the future is. Then it seems to you that being with others is more important. Yes, communion is very important, because it’s your social life! But when you’re on your own two feet, when you want to build things for yourself and your family, what you know is the most important thing. Because from this knowledge of yours, which has become a way of being, all confidence in yourself and in others starts. You won’t feel the spare wheel, but the one who sets things in motion. And you, with your unique face, with your unique life experience, will move forward, every day you will do essential things, because you learned from a young age to work, to build yourself. And your constructions, seen or unseen by all, will be your reality, your history, to which you will call others. For when you want to praise an author, you are actually praising his work, his clear and victorious creed.
The statue in front of the memorial house is the essential face from history. His things need to be explained. His photographs have a history behind them. Those who come and talk about the author also have durable research work. Nothing in literature is done without sweat, without always being another, without applied knowledge. The life itself is a unique and completely unrepeatable existential journey, a continuous encounter with unexpected events. The one you met today for the first time, you met only today. You can meet him tomorrow and another day and another year, but he is in your life today for the first time. It is this newness that grabs your attention. Who is he, if he is in front of me for the first time? Where does he come from, what does he do, who is he? Our minds should always ask themselves this thing. Let’s not let it get cloyed! Let’s not leave it without interrogations! A mind that seeks answers is a mind that allows itself to be enlightened by God. Because truly seeking answers means humbly acknowledging that you don’t have them and that you can’t have them without His help and of people.
[1] The plural form of Troiță.
[2] A novel found in work.
