The mosaic coming together
A mozaik összecsiszolódása
Usually, we might start our writing during our trips or hikes with the weather being kind to us….but we can’t use this panel now. Still, we tried to make the most of our short weekend together.
After our arrival, we wandered around the Boronka nature reserve, i.e. Kaszo and its surroundings, along the forest canopy trail, and concluded our walk with an interesting game task from our mentor. In a defined and visible area, we chose a tree that we liked, liked for some reason. Everyone stood next to the one they really liked and then shared with the echoing forest why they had chosen the one they liked. I summed up my choice with “Two trees, twisted together into a thick trunk, that seem to hug, but still run into separate canopies.” I also found the sentences of the others interesting and thought-provoking, and here are some of them, without really claiming completeness (of course, it was also important who the author of the sentence was): “sometimes you have to be on the floor…” “this tree is like me – so terse – so messy”, “because even though it doesn’t go straight, it knows where it’s going”; “because even though it’s fallen down, it has a chance for another life, ” because it has two colours”; because one branch wraps around the other, it has become a support, “because it goes straight up”…
We also visited the wildlife park of Kaszo and after a delicious lunch we boarded the forest railway, which takes us through even more beautiful landscapes and forests, among colourful leaves. Although we couldn’t see Lake Balaton because of the heavy rain and ice, we were visited on the train by Santa Claus, who not only gave us a Christmas bookmark – as bookworms, but also told us about the sights of the area as Santa Claus, who was a tour guide in his spare time. We promised him that next year we’d come in better weather to hear the famous deer roar in Kaszo and visit the lake.
After dinner, everyone was eagerly awaiting the programme prepared by two of our university classmates, Eszter and Péter Sárközi, in which I had also helped. Péter and Eszter played board games, and together we played self-awareness and team-building games in the evening, which had already turned into winter. I have to admit that we were a bit worried about how the group would be received, whether we would be able to get our boys and girls to talk and cooperate. I am delighted to report that we did! We were also surprised that we had an informal discussion for almost three hours within the framework of the games. Everyone was involved in the process of reflection, discussion and brainstorming. In the first part, Ervin Lázár: The Miracle Path, we wondered what a bad quality is, whether we can change it, whether it is necessary to change it if someone else draws our attention to it, what is “bad” and why we call it “bad”, whether we have innate and unchangeable, coded qualities; do we care if others criticise us; are there feminine and masculine traits; and is it always right to point out to others, even by self-communication, what is bothering us? We have explored some really deep and interesting issues. Everyone expressed their opinion, reflected on the other’s, even if they disagreed. But the point was this: we accept what the other person thinks, while speaking our own thoughts and feelings freely, without fear of being laughed at or scolded. Coming back to the exercise, several people said that they would not go with someone else to visit Rimapéntekeki Rimai Péntekh’s pharmacy, where one can find a cure for spiritual ills, because the change has to be made by us, and can only be bought by ourselves.
In the second exercise, I brought a drama class play in which we re-enacted an ancient custom of a Central American Indian tribe. Within the community, if someone committed a sin, the whole tribe was called together, the “sinner” was seated in the middle of the circle, and then everyone had to name one good quality of the person in the circle. This was a way of showing that whatever we do, there is always something good and worthwhile in us that we may not even realise in ourselves. Each member of our group – even without committing a sin – sat in the circle, listening to what the others, even if we know less about each other, thought about him or her. We very rarely use the phrases “I respect that about you…” or “I love/like that about you…” and “I like you because…”. We don’t praise each other with small compliments every day, when we could be making many of our days better. Throughout the game, we alternated between lung-shaking laughter and tears that stung our eyes, as the humorous moments sometimes made us feel moved by how beautiful it is to talk about each other.
After the long drawn out conversation/game, more conversations and conversational games were played. Dawn walks through snowy streets and whirlwind card games. All in all, I think everyone left Sunday morning with a reassuring and gentle feeling: that there is such a thing as group spirit; that any two or a dozen people can successfully grind together, from the bits and pieces of human mosaic, into a large and unique mosaic; that kindness still exists and that we are indeed good and valuable people, even if we can never admit it in difficult times or even at all. It was hard to break free from the goodbye hugs and return home.
But see you later tonight at the Advent Giving Evening and musical theatre performance at the Csiky Gergely Theatre! And even if the weather was not kind, the ending made this weekend perfect, the charity gala was sumptuous, atmospheric, with lots of music, dance, poetry, humour, cool pictures. We all felt the joy of anticipation and the spirit of celebration together: with parents, siblings, friends, loved ones, volunteers, developers and our mentor. It was nice to see everyone arrive with Christmas presents in their hands, and to place our little presents under the Christmas tree, as the many beautiful gifts brought by the audience have been collected and delivered by the theatre staff for years to those who are in particular need. The members, friends, acquaintances, families, developers and volunteers of the Kaposvár Group 2 were unanimous in their desire to make the Advent Charity Gala a tradition. We all remember the past weekend with gratitude and thanks from everyone. You can see photos of our time together in the gallery.
Jázmin Pretz, Kaposvár 2