A Little Hamlet

A little hamlet

The ideal hamlet should be naturally pleasing and replete with goodness and charm. Her luxuries should be natural and whenever possible, touched by human hands. Manuchihri compares the garden full of natural luxuries to a rich carpet: "Le nouveau printemps endosse ce tapis aux cent couleurs...", 

The hamlet is a splendidly regal environment. Bathed in rainbows, nestled among the trees, surrounded by fruits and flowers, animals and charming creatures of all origin, the hamlet exhibits a noble luxury ostentatious displays of possibility fail to capture. 

Even the roses surrounding the hamlet exhibit luxury. 

"La rose à deux faces est comme un cercle sur une soie rouge, lorsque tu aurais fait passer à son envers un cordonnet d'or." 

The court panegyrists delivered high praise for the highly studied and discriminating hamletian experience. Comparing natural elements to fine artifice in the form of rich treasures created by skilled craftspersons, those attending the hamlet envisioned the artifice of the springtime garden, 

"les branches des fleurs sont comme des échecs d'argent et de cornaline qui, à la tombé de la nuit, jouent aux échecs sur un tapis de verdure..."

Paths leading to the hamlet are usually at a level higher than the surrounding hamlet and gardens, the geometrical layout of the hamlet allowing for maximum enjoyment and proper usage of any given space. One has the illusion of walking into a peacefully, serene locale surrounded by the most intimate of settings, which have their own unique feel and temperament. 

One might compare a hamlet to a finely woven cloth, not only for its natural elements but for its arrangement. The artificer responsible for these creations is Nature, those who serve as custodians simply encourage her beautiful procreation. 

Whether communion with nature occurs with self or with a distinct force, I cannot say, but nature is a natural luxury in which one may delight, in which one may communicate outwards directly through sensual experiences of the world. 

"le caractère stylisé de la description et les réalités que voit le poète rappellent bien ce que nous connaissons dans notre poésie; mais la progression de la description, la façon dont le poète se met en cause et le contexte général où s'inscrit cette description, rendent les rapprochements difficiles..."

In Surah 16 (12-16) of the Koran, Islam recognizes a parallel between a basic belief in the natural world as a book in which the believer can read divine mysteries: 

"And He hath subjected to you the night and the day; the sun and the moon and the stars too are subjected to you by his behest; verily, in this are signs for those who understand. 

 And all of the varied hues that He hath created for you over the earth: verily, in this are signs for those who remember.

 And He it is who hath subjected the sea to you, that ye may eat of its fresh fish, and take forth from it ornaments to wear - thou seest the ships ploughing its billows - and that ye may go in quest of his bounties, and that ye might give thanks.

 And He hath thrown firm mountains on the earth, lest it move with you; and rivers and paths for your guidance.

 And way marks. By the stars too are men guided." 

What one reads into one's own hamlet is entirely of one's own making. When I step back and observe my own little hamlet, I recognize elements, differently arranged, that speak to the most intimate aspects of my being. Some elements serve as tokens until a more personalized touch might be applied, but the sense is of painting oneself onto a canvas, of distributing oneself inside the nooks and crannies with bits and pieces of nostalgic sensibilities that have far more meaning than their simplicity would suggest. 

To experience the delights of one's garden, roses and fruit should be smelled and tasted. To remain unresponsive to nature's manifest luxury is to remain unresponsive to altruistic love for life giving sustenance. The world simply does not exist without it. Thus, through direct intention, one can invite the sensual experience into oneself, and through one's efforts, express the same sensory experience outwards. This engagement creates a direct aesthetic by which innocent sensuality blossoms. 

My purpose in encouraging sensory experience is expressed with my own unique contribution to the arts and letters. I often times feel like nature's nightingale, singing sensual music of nature's poetry to delight the ear, to reinforce and advance her beauty, and to delight, for myself, in the conception of a divine aesthetic. 

Perhaps simliar in nature to the Surah above, recognition of the peace and serenity that abounds in this space is more easily received by those who are in direct communion with their own experience of nature. My own little hamlet is a microcosm of Creation that conveys my sensitivity to the relation between human beings and divine art. 

What one interprets is a metaphor for their own creations. If the metaphor speaks of artificiality, then it is clear that artificiality is the author of their perceptions. If one conceives of their garden from an elegant study adapting form to function with economy and grace, then certainly each of those elements will be present. However one designs and orders their liaison with their hamlet, qualities that are essential to their well-being will be at play. We surround ourselves with that which speaks to us, our choices, the arrangements exist, somewhere within us, the construction of them outside ourselves concerns the eye, indeed, all the organized parts of our human nature. 

Nature is the immediate artificer of our hamlet's jardin, but her artifice exists only to maintain our sensibilities, according to our unique plans. So honored and valued are our gardens, that we fill them with our highest accolade, our presence.