L 218 F

When, some five months ago, I was invited for a three-week-long holiday at one of my distant relation's country house, I did not dare to think that a new way of life would unfold itself, strange but still convincing enough to be adopted.

Maria and Laszlo are a middle-aged couple living in a restored traditional peasant house at the edge of a little village in the western part of Hungary. They moved there about three years ago in order to start a new life. Owing to their invitation for a summer holiday, I could look into the mysteries of the style of their living.

The accommodation took quite a lot of time for me, so I think of describing only the last day's routine, by when I had actually managed to adopt their pace of life. Starting with the morning, I have to remark that it sets in hours earlier than we are accustomed to. The phrases " rise with the lark " and "go to bed with the sun" were completely true for us as sleeping lasted from about 9 o'clock in the evening to about 5 o'clock in the morning. I have non objection to this natural habit; watching TV late at night or dancing at a party till the small hours after a weary weekday is of no use, besides, sleeping hours before midnight are much more valuable than in any other part of the day.

Although there was a little bathroom in the house, we rarely used it; we preferred washing outside, in a deep tub filled with fresh cold water drawn from the well. I particularly enjoyed pacing on the soft grass wet with dew with nothing but a night-dress on me. I was taught some bracing gymnastic exercises, too, which we did jointly and also in the open air every morning.

When one of us got hungry, he or she just walked down to the bottom of the garden, decided which hind of fruit he or she desired most, looked for the right tree or bush and, without any washing, peeling, grating or pressing, ate it in hide and hair. By the way, I learnt some laws restricting eating habits. These include the rule settling that ingestion before noon may consist of fruits only, for these foodstuffs detoxicate the human system, and their active principles are most effective in the late morning hours.

The little garden supplying the family with all the necessary green stuff was a biotic one, that is no sprays and chemical fertilizer were used in it. We usually spent the morning hours there planting, watering, or just ingathering the crops. Then we chose the ingredients of a light midday meal and prepared it in always less than half an hour. The secret of this quickness was the omission of mixing, kneading, cooking, baking or cooling. We took a deep bowl, sliced various kinds of raw vegetables, onion and spices in it, dressed it with cold-pressed oil and dredged some grated nuts over the ready-to-eat vegetable salad.

The afternoon was the time for littering down the stable, rubbing down the horses and harnessing them, ready for riding out to the countryside. The two mares, one of them dark bay, the other yellow, were not runners but still slippy horses that handled well. Riding gallop through the fields, trotting in the woods, riding at a slow-pace through a flat stream made me feel that I am part and parcel of nature, rather than of a smoky, noisy, racing and bumptious civilization, which has more to do with barbarism than with an advanced culture said to have overcome the former.

Arriving home with a pleasant tiredness in the body, we had an abundant bath or went down to the stream and swam a little for limbering up. After having some light meal, we conversed for a while, or one of us read out so that we could discuss the things heard afterwards. Finally, with a last sniff of fresh air, we went to bed. to tell the truth, usually I was the only one doing like this, as Maria and Laszlo preferred making their beds outdoors, which was entirely natural for them and after three weeks quite convincing for me, too.

Leaving the cosy house after three weeks of quiet, calmness and serenity, and after learning the rules of a new outlook upon life more valuable than any other, meant parting from my masters, who opened my eyes to be able to see what is natural, healthy, precious and improver for people in this world.