Language of the Stairwell

(Better to know nothing than to have a bee in one’s bonnet)

Antonín Kosík

In the beginning there is observation. We observe and hear formicidae, fish, the grass, the moon and the sand and we believe that they are observing us too. It is quite likely that they are. But then again, maybe not. Then we turn our attention elsewhere, we go to eat and drink, and when we come back we no longer find our friends the ants, the fish, the clouds and the stones. We can‘t see them, we can‘t hear them. Luckily we remember them.
The next time we will know we should appreciate them better, we tell ourselves, instead we’ll capture them in a small cage, take them with us, try to find out what we cannot understand: who the ants are and what they want from us, where they are crawling to and why, what the fish are probably doing now, how we can call back the clouds and the sun. In this situation we begin to use aids and instruments which we don’t understand, but which we grasp because they are to hand. We poke at the ants with a stick, prod the fish in the eyes, kick at the stones, try to hit the clouds with a snowball and to summon the sun by shouting. Sometimes it works. Again, sometimes it doesn‘t.

(From Pospojovaný svĕt published by Prostor, Praha )