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The mysterious Shoreditch Park has decided to disclose all secrets from its inner world in a cold winter night by bringing two core characters of this story together. Because the park had many secrets and mysteries more than one can bear. For instance, the park has two different worlds in days and nights. Opening its doors to the good people during days, Shoreditch Park allows kind foxes by shifting to a different identity.

Shoreditch Park was like covered with thousands of secrets and mysteries. Many mystical, interesting and dramatic incidents happened in the park. It was like all these incidents belong only to this park. The incidents and experiences stucked in the park’s dusty pages should be disclosed and revealed one by one. Searched for a man to reveal all the secrets and mysteries for a long time, Shoreditch Park has finally decided on tired Veysel Baba as a reliable man. The depth in Veysel Baba’s words spoken during that night has made Shoreditch Park to take such a decision.

Shoreditch Park contacted with the unique talking fox in order to revive the man sleeping for death on a bench. Arrived to the park at that night with the purpose to find a spouse, Silent Foothas seen the exhausted man lying on a bench for a bitter end in the middle of park and called an ambulance by a payphone near the park since the fox can talk and it is aware of all the things going on. The fox even saved a couple of lives previously by acting as such. The ones saved by the fox include the ones hanged themselves on a tree, the ones wounded during a shoot-out, a person hi-jacked and wounded by a knife, a person fainted due to a strike over the head, a man having a heart attack and even a woman giving birth in the middle of park. Our warmhearted friend, the talking fox, saved a man’s life this time. While the fox was calling an ambulance by a payphone next to the park, it was also trying to warm Veysel Baba by patting his face with its tail. The tired man lying on the bench in a half-stunned mood for a bitter end could remember all these things indistinctly. He recalled the final moment of little match girl lighting under cold while dreaming about her grandmother as well as the villager ladies washing clothes by the river together with fabulous moments during his childhood. He also recalled his mother’s role in this story as she was cleaning her son and heating the water. Finally, he realized a fox trying to warm his hands and his face with its long tail.

As the man regained consciousness in the emergency service of a hospital, he failed to recognize whether these memories are real or fiction. The only thing he knows that he is alive and he is staying in the emergency service of a hospital. As our exhausted Veysel Baba recovered slightly, he tried to get information from the officers on how is his condition and how he is taken to this hospital.

Because he fell asleep for a bitter end at that night in the middle of park. Who would rescue him from this situation? Who would go to the park at that cold and late night? Does the fox he remembers indistinctly really exist? Did he survive because of this fox or did this fox bring him to the hospital?

The man returned home in the evening together with these questions. Encountered death previously for many times, Veysel Baba has succeeded to survive. Regardless of tortures, hunger, thirst, confinement and desolation, he didn’t surrender and he somehow survived. When this exhausted man spent his entire life with a model struggle has been betrayed and left for loneliness by his friends, he dove to the vibrant nightlife of London. Thus, he became a wicked part of a fake, cruel and empty life by moving away from his nature.The humanitarian values adopted to death by Veysel Baba are now replaced with empty glasses in the pubs, the relationships based on self-interests and the fake smiles.

After Veysel Baba returned home, he thought about all these things and decided to be involved in a self-criticism process since he would not survive in this way and this kind of life style doesn’t fit to his nature. While he was once taken as a role model with a great respect, Veysel Baba was now standing here as a monument of defeat. He should stop the rot and take new decisions regarding his remaining lifetime. He should hold on the precious gift of life by leaving all experiences behind and by taking relevant lessons. To do so, he should turn towards spirituality as the primary savior force instead of the dirty and contrived game called politics. Because spirituality is a safe haven under such conditions whereas it eliminates the internal evil forces together with the evil thoughts, draws people away from the pessimistic thoughts, gives meaning and depth to life as well as to provide humanity with a new spirit, hope and life.

See what are the words of the great thinker and sufi Mawlana Jalaluddin-i Rumi (1207-1273) for the people losing hope in such cases and the pessimist ones like our Veysel Baba:

“Don’t face towards desparation. There is always a hope. Don’t go to the dark side, there is always a sun.”

“Don’t give up hope during distressed times. Work hard and show great effort. You will see. The sunny and bright times will embrace you one day. Challenge accompanies convenience. Get yourself together and never lose your hope.”

“The sun is an evidence of its existence. If you would seek evidence, don’t turn away from the sun.”

“Spending life for an empty purpose is a great waste. Because one-hour of life could not be traded with one hundred dinars.”

“Oh, the son! Don’t be committed, but to consider freedom. Until when you would remain as a slave for gold and silver?Even though you try to pour the entire sea into a bucket, this bucket shall take your daily need in maximum.”

“The person seemed awake is actually dead to the world. His woken state is worse than his sleep. If your existence would not be awaken by God, then your woken state seems like the one in a prison.”

“The material person is poor and coward. It is worthless to fear from thieves. Regardless that he borns and dies in naked, he suffers due to this fear of thieves.”

“The material mind is a result of emotions and desires. It is an obstacle preventing you from the path of Allah. The lives following crows shall proceed, but reach to a grave at the end.”

“The tricks for material benefits are useless, but the ones decreasing the material passions are good. This world is a prison and we are the prisoners. We should dig this prison and escape from there.”

“Attain wealth by means of poverty, leave the world behind. The path’s eternity relies on union, leave your clothes behind. If God is your purpose, then avoid thinking deeper. Forget the world and leave materialism behind.”

“You gave me a drop of mind from your presence. Make me to reach your seas and save me from this drip.”

“Be like amusical composition. Let them to tell your name with longing.”

“I would like to have dignitiy. I found it within modesty.”

“I would like to be a sun spreading to oceans and deserts in golden rays. I would like to be the wind blowing at nights and involving in the curse of innocents.”

“There are thousands of traps in the path of life and we are like the enthusiastic but poor pigeons. Regardless of thousands of traps per mile, there wouldn’t be any concern as long as you stand together with us.”

“Whether a lame, lazy or impudent, turn to Him, listen to Him and come to Him.”

“Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving, it doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vow a hundred times. Come, come again, come.”

Exhausted Veysel Baba was thinking of involving in a new decision phase following the deep spiritual and meaningful words of Mawlana Jalaluddin-i Rumi, the sultan of hearts. He should move away from a hollow life style as a materialist individual and he should switch to a spiritual, humanitarian and reliable life style providing guidance in any sense. In order to reach the spiritual satisfaction, he should escape from the evil thoughts based on self-interests together with daily relations and materialist approach. For example, he should change his social circle immediately or he should cease the vibrant nightlife. Consequently, he should quit smoking, drinking, irregular eating habit and staying sleepless. Because this man has become a monument of devotion, defeat, regret, pessimism and insensitivity.

Several sins or irresponsible acts such as smoking, drinking, irregular life style and nightlife are further included in the man’s profile filled with torture, fear, betrayal, deception, alienation, blood, tear, sadness, starvation andpoverty. How long his weakened body would bear these deposited irregular lives?

At this stage, he should get himself together. He shouldn’t be defeated in spiritual and physical senses.

 

He should get up. He shouldn’t allow deeper pains and tears on his weakened body. There should be no room for regrets, betrayals, desolatenesses, alienations, tragedies, tears, psychic traumas, physical pains, sleepless nights, suicidal attempts and regretful words.

Renowned with his essays on surrealism as one of the leading names in respect of magical reality, the Argentinian poet and author Jorge Luis Borges (24.08.1899 – 14.06.1986) takes the papers and writes down a poem with many regrets when he feels the cold breath of death during last times of his examplary life including dense artistic activities and performances. Let’s see what Jorge Luis Borges tells on his regrets in this poem:

 

If I could live again my life,

In the next – I’ll try,

– to make more mistakes,

I won’t try to be so perfect,

I’ll be more relaxed,

I’ll be more full – than I am now,

In fact, I’ll take fewer things seriously,

I’ll be less hygenic,

I’ll take more risks,

I’ll take more trips,

I’ll watch more sunsets,

I’ll climb more mountains,

I’ll swim more rivers,

I’ll go to more places – I’ve never been,

I’ll eat more ice creams and less (lime) beans,

I’ll have more real problems – and less imaginary

ones,

I was one of those people who live

prudent and prolific lives –

each minute of his life,

Offcourse that I had moments of joy – but,

if I could go back I’ll try to have only good moments,

If you don’t know – thats what life is made of,

Don’t lose the now!

I was one of those who never goes anywhere

without a thermometer,

without a hot-water bottle,

and without an umberella and without a parachute,

If I could live again – I will travel light,

If I could live again – I’ll try to work bare feet

at the beginning of spring till

the end of autumn,

I’ll ride more carts,

I’ll watch more sunrises and play with more children,

If I have the life to live – but now I am 85,

– and I know that I am dying …

-Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986)

 

Indeed, we all have numerous dreams like Jorge Luis Borge in this world with many beauties. Since we sometimes fail to make our dreams come true with several regrets, we continue blaming ourselves every time we turn back. We list these endless regrets as we realize how we are defeated against the cruel facts of life, how we are converted to materialist individuals, how we are transformed to machines deprived of emotions, how we are converted to brutal commodities and how we walk away from our beautiful dreams one by one. We try to recall our unachieved dreams with many regrets by taking papers and pen in the age of 80’s or 90’s like Jorge Luis Borges and me. As Veysel Baba from Dersim, an exhausted man reaching to 60 years, I would like to say:

“I wish to stay as a child. I wish I have never met with the cruel facts of life.”

I wish I have lived forever in this small mountain village together with my dreams.

I wish I have never grown up. I wish I haven’t been dispersed by following a dream of changing the world.

I wish I haven’t been familiar with good concepts such as politics, justice, peace, fraternity, love and unity. Accordingly, I wish I have never met with those killers, despots, savage leechers, traitors and selfish ones. I wish I have never experienced so much pain, tragedy, sadness, disappointment, alienation, desolateness andregrets.

I wish to be a walnut tree grown up and forgotten simply in far lands. I wish to be a friend of a squirrel living in that tree. I wish to be a plum tree turning green and yielding fruits during spring. I wish to turn greener and make my fruits tastier for the people seeing me.

I wish to be a snowdrop raising to the sky through the snow melting by the beginning of spring. I also wish to be a ladybug, a bee or a butterfly perching on that flower. Or, I wish to be a simple clover growing nearby a rock and connecting with earth as a mortal.

I wish I have never been such a selective, attentive, daydreamer and obsessed person.

I wish to be a book, pencil, notebook, brush, canvas or kite at the hands of a child.

I wish to be involved in people’s dreams like stars and I wish to decorate their beautiful dreams.

I wish to embrace the entire world like a rainbow. I wish to be a rain regenarating all deserts, plains, mountains, hills, valleys and forests. But…?

 

END OF CHAPTER

15/08/2016 Veysel  Baba – Kinder House, London