-Okapi, do you have time for a bit of metaphysical crossover work?
-Oh, hi Zebra, I didn't hear you arriving. Okapi blinks from under a straw hat, which looks great on it. -What do you mean by that? And what is the crossover made with?
Zebra looks admiringly at the sun hat. -Good idea to put something like that on. My thought processes are probably more associative in this heat. I've made a few disjointed observations and would like to ask you what you think!
-Why so much preamble? Shoot! says Okapi encouragingly.
-To avoid being accused of being unscientific...
-Listen, listen, as if that had ever happened, giggles Okapi.
-...I would like to remind you of Monsieur Tractatus, says Zebra with a devout expression. -You know him.
-Of course I do! Even today, Wittgenstein is considered an important thinker with particularly clear language! Not always unambiguous, though... claire-obscure, I would say. But which statement are you referring to?
-I have collected, so to speak, situations in which words do not occur or would be more likely to be distracting, and his captivating formulation came to mind: “There is indeed the inexpressible, this shows itself; it is what is mystical.”
-Sounds promising. And what situations were those?
-For example, simply marvelling at how the little bee I've just rescued from the water is struggling to get back on its feet. And to observe this will to live that is in all creatures, even in such a small one. Which, in theory, can't really have a particularly large brain if it's so small, can it? So where does the will have its place?
Okapi nods. -And what next?
-Or when I quickly water the little tomato plant, which has already drooped all its leaves, because it's so hot and humid outside and the soil is obviously already quite dry, and then I turn around and walk away and hear, or think I hear a sound, like a little gulp, which actually sounds quite cheerful.
-I can kind of imagine when you say it like that, says Okapi. May I contribute to the collection?
-You're very welcome, says Zebra with an inviting gesture.
-Because I had the perception that the bee or the tomato might have felt some kind of gratitude. Today I heard about a gratitude exercise that is very concrete. Because most people take their input from the computer or telephone, the task was to thank this transmission device straight away. It may have an animistic feel to it, but there is of course an idea behind it that cannot be dismissed: to thank the people who made it possible. In other words, to all those congenial minds who worked together to develop this technology in the first place, in which we are connected and can communicate with each other.
-Animistic, yes, but quite realistic, comments Zebra. -I like that! I have one more scene.
-I'm listening, says Okapi.
-I have this little symbol that represents a protective sphere. It helps me to deal with negative messages, facts and energies. It reminds me of an inner place of peace. It's a stone that I once wished for, that a dear friend gave me. It has something of a halo of light that turns green and pink. I wear it very often.
Zebra holds the round, colourful stone up to the sun and lights up a small rainbow, which the two of them gaze at in silent admiration.
© Picture: Roksolana Zasiadko/Unsplash