Hryts Explains Life

By Volodymyr Kish

 I spent the July 1^st holiday weekend up at the family cottage far removed from the tribulations and vicissitudes of urban life.  I particularly enjoy these little escapes into the Ontario wilderness.  There, I can let myself be overwhelmed by the peace, beauty and simplicity of nature and let my spiritual batteries recharge.  I have found some truly magical spots in that vast expanse of forest, lakes, rivers and streams that abound in the area north of Bancroft.  I can think of nothing more pleasant than to sit for hours by the side of a lake inhabited only by loons and ducks, or a gently flowing stream, being entertained by the local avian chorus and soothed by the sounds of flowing water. 

The tranquillity and idyllic surroundings inevitably nudge the mind into a contemplative state and I often embark on philosophical mental meanderings, seeking to find wisdom and meaning in that complex jungle of experiences that I call my life.  For me, of course, this always proves to be a futile exercise – I am singularly incapable of understanding who I am, why my mind works the way it does or why I do many of the things I do.  In fact, I am especially envious of all those people who manage to live their whole lives without ever troubling to ask themselves about what is the meaning of life and their place in it.

And then of course, there is my cousin Hryts from Pidkamin, Ukraine, the only living person I know who was born with a complete understanding of philosophy genetically encoded into his brain.  Despite spending most of his life in a nondescript but pleasant little village in a scenic valley north of Ternopil, Hryts has life, the world and universe figured out in a way that leaves me in awe every time I speak with him.

I can recall one time when I was still living in Ukraine, we spent a pleasant afternoon fishing on the Ikva River just north of Pidkamin.  The fishing part was, needless to say, just an official excuse to spend some time in the fresh air under a tree by the side of a river with ample supplies of Ukrainian zakusky (snacks) and Hryts’ famous (or more accurately, infamous) home brew.

Inevitably, the conversation turned to the eternal big “why”.  

“Why are we here?” I asked Hryts.

As usual, he chuckled at my naiveté.

“You are a real turnip, my friend!” he exclaimed.  “You are always looking for complex answers to life, when the answers are always simple.  From the time you are born until the time comes for your remains to fertilize other life, you have but one real purpose in life and that is to make the world a better place.”

He took a slow sip of his home brew and continued.

“Each person is endowed at birth with a distinct set of potential skills, talents and gifts, and your mission in life is to make sure that when you leave this existence you have contributed something positive to this planet, to human society and to the evolution of civilization.”

I pondered that for a while before speaking up again.

“But what if I don’t have any particular skills or talents? What if I am not blessed with creativity or intelligence? What if I am only your average Ivan Ivanovich or Ivanka Ivanivna?  What difference is my life going to make in the grand scheme of things?”

“Once again you are thinking like a turnip!” he laughed.

“Every person has some combination of three essential resources that are behind every accomplishment – talent, treasure and time.  Some people have talent and create things.  Other people have either inherited or through their efforts have accumulated material resources, that is to say treasure, and use this treasure to make or build things that are useful to society. As for all those people that have neither any particular talent nor significant treasure, they all still have time, and they should use that time productively to help the people that have talent or treasure to make the world a better place.”

As always, I was awed by the simplicity and rationality of his thinking.  I had one last question, however.

“So how come so many of us fail to understand this simple truth?” I asked.

“That too is simple.” He replied. “Unfortunately, we are all born with what I call the “selfish” chromosome that tends to make us focus on our own pleasures and wants.  What we fail to realize is that our individual lives have no meaning without the relationships we have with other people and the rest of society.  Imagine if you suddenly found yourself on another planet where you had everything you needed to live but there were no other people or other living things around to relate to.  Your life would be sterile and meaningless.  We can only find happiness and fulfillment through our relationships with the rest of Mankind and the real world.  So our lives only become meaningful and have purpose when we dedicate them to enhancing those relationships and the quality of the world that we live in.”

Yes indeed, life really is quite simple.