Chronicles From The Future: The amazing story of Paul Amadeus Dienach

They say that there is nothing simpler and easier than this happiness. Life is full of it. Creation has generously spread it everywhere: in the sunbeam that emerges after the storm, in the colour and the odour of the flowers, in the whiteness of the clouds, in the purity of thought, in the singing of the birds, in noble intentions, in good deeds… Life is a priceless, divine gift! And every aspect of our existence overflows with unadulterated joy and grace.

“Who’s blame is it that you tore your souls apart with you own hands?” Stefan asked me.

I think I just now realise how wrong the road that we had chosen was, how different from the real, simple and straight road that leads to happiness. The conditions of our lives in the 20th century were coming back to haunt me in the form of a dirge that echoed in my mind. The everyday activities and chores that killed the spirit, the routine that blackened our mood, the selfish thirst for profit, the struggle for supremacy, the eternal fear of an upcoming disaster, enemies, worries, deprivations and this whole economic, political and social anarchy that prevailed. How they harmed us! They ended up constantly poisoning our soul until they made it atrophy and gradually become disabled. And thus we stopped enjoying the treasures of the heart.

Stefan continued. “As the years went by, you bitterly regretted it, but it was already too late. The reflections of the Great Reality, of the Samith

, had definitively ceased to exist in your life. They had fallen into oblivion. Your nerves were frayed by the everyday anxieties and by suppressing the finest things you had in you for so many years you allowed your inner world to run dry.

I told him that there was also a good side to our spirited temperament and personality, all the rivalry and the war for supremacy because they were the only way for a new day to come, the only way for a step forward, for a better life. “There was creation in those battles too, not only blood and pain”, I told him. He wouldn’t even hear me out…

“Progress and improvement in your narrow living environment, yes, maybe there was, but in the context of the Samith

, there wasn’t,” was the answer. “Creation sees life as an alternation between creative work, joy, inspiration and love. Life is a journey among winsome and joyful travellers.”

They don’t feel like we felt; that “you only live once”. They don’t feel that repetition makes impressions fade. “New day-new joys” is their motto. They rejoice with everything, every little thing, without expecting to gain anything from it. A simple chat with clever and pleasant people is enough to make them happy.

I remember one morning, about two months ago, when they organised a dance of thousands of people up in the mountains, just because it was the summer solstice. And I'm not talking about farmers or small children. Hordes of serious men and women started out at dawn from the villas and Orta, Varez, Arona, Streza and Luino, dressed in antiquated, traditional costumes that they had dug out from God knows where especially for that day: red socks and colourful head ribbons for the girls, embroidered waistcoats, loose white shirts and shoes with coloured laces for the boys. I saw them setting up poles adorned with garlands of fresh flowers and then dancing around them to the rhythm of their ancient, ancestral songs, celebrating the sun and the good weather, as if it were something rare on the Mediterranean coast.

I was even told that there were people who, before they died, thanked God for giving them the chance to spend the nights of May walking through the Roads of Jasmine under the stars, something that I did myself in Norfor and I have to admit was wonderful.

I think that our youth would look very old in soul and spirit compared to their mature adults. Here, even if you’re elderly, you’re still considered young. People here, along with keeping up with the serious aspects of their lives, also achieve a remarkable preservation of their child psyche. This is their secret. And it is no coincidence that one of the fundamental principles of their psychological life is summarised in the phrase: "Back to the early joys of our childhood!”

If you talk to them about resting, they’ll laugh at you! You see them feel like that and you can’t help but think: haven’t they learnt yet? Haven’t they realised the falsity of the world yet? Do they still live in a pink little bubble? Haven’t the years that have passed opened their eyes? Constant eagerness and excitement to live and travel, hopes and childhood dreams as if they’re still fifteen years old. And yet, yes; their enthusiasm is permanent and lasting! Age for them doesn’t matter. The anticipation of the end does not cause them bitterness or sorrow.