KNOT
(essay)
Once a wise man was asked:
"Are there any unsolved mysteries or secrets about the Earth and the Heaven?"
He said: 'KNOT'
The wise old man, tying knots in a delicate silk handkerchief, responds with a smile to the
young man who asked him"What is the meaning of life?"
The young man shrugged his shoulders and hesitantly said:
- At first it was smooth... Now it's knotty
-Our life looks like this: when we are born, our life path is smooth, as we live, we have
untangling knots made by fate. Those who have a lot of knots face a lot of troubles and suffer.
Untying them is not an easy task... When you pull on the towel, the knots become smaller but
tighter. At this time, it is impossible to untie the knots...
- What should we do to get rid of them?
- First of all, you need to know who and what caused these knots. Pay attention to each
one, think how to untangle them. Try to untangle the knots slowly and carefully. Remember - no
knot can be untied with one hand. Appreciate everyone who is dear to you - it is your second
hand. Our ancestors said: "The threshing floor fights with the wind, the knot with the people"
Don't forget the truth: Friendship and love are like a rope: if it is cut, it cannot be fixed without
tying a knot. Don't cut the rope...
***
Perhaps KNOT is the most contradictory notion that we constantly face in our life, but we
don’t get to its essence very often. The KNOT that is tied in our nappy for the first time when
we open our eyes to the world, and in our shroud for the last time when we pass away...
... We are travelers on a road called life. This road is not long, nor is it smooth. On the ups
and downs path of life, there are those of us who get out of the frying pan and into the fire , those
of us who are warmed by the sun, and those who are gone with the wind. On this road where our
fate is different, knots constantly accompany us.
If we managed to tie a knot in a shoelace, we were said"Thank God, you have grown
up"... We used to look for nuts and raisins in the small parcels of our grandmothers who tied
knots on carpets and rugs... We had a tradition of tying knots around the waist of our newlywed
daughters...
As we get older, the number of knots we face on the road of life increases. Our emotions
are rooted in our heart, and our thoughts are rooted in our brain, where nerves and veins
interconnect and intertwine to create the complex fabric-the knots. Our eyebrows are knotted
from nerves, our forehead from thought... When we confront an enemy -we clench our fists,
when we go on a journey with a friend - we ourselves are knotted,that is a strong bond is created
between us...
***
KNOT is as old as the world is. The first knots were made by our ancestors before they got
fire - the simplest tools and weapons were made by wrapping a stone in a stick and knotting it. It was believed that the knot brings success, heals wounds, and fulfills wishes.
In the dim and distant past, boats were made using knots in ancient Egypt, and in Greece,
knot-tying competitions were held. If the Romans used knots in the treatment of the sick, in
Babylon the view of the knot was different - the knot was considered a means of making a
person sick and weak.
Known as a symbol of the interdependence of all events and living things in the universe,
the KNOT was considered a symbol of longevity, love and harmony, stability and change, and
the unshakable unity of compassion and wisdom in ancient China.
We use knots today without thinking about their age. It does not occur to us that people
used different types of knots thousands of years ago. Today, Egyptian knot-tying techniques
have been discovered in very ancient ship models, unearthed during archaeological excavations
and called "ships of the dead".The knotting techniques were also found in the rope hanging from the door of the third room, in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Has there been a person in the history of mankind who did not use knot even once in his
life?! Knots are ubiquitous in human life, being used in a wide variety of fields and situations.
Although it is not clear who took the initiative to use the knot to transmit information, it is
widely known that knotted writing, called khipu, was used for a long time. It is even
hypothesized that the letters of the alphabet of many nations are copies of painted knots. The
ancient Incas made calculations and records and compiled documents using the khipu. Currently,
the richest collection of khipu, consisting of 298 knots, is exhibited in the Berlin museum.
The scientific view of knots, which is widely used in seafaring, agriculture, tourism and
many other fields, is reflected in nautical science, which has a history of almost a century. This
branch of science, which investigates knot theory, classification and application of knots, studies
the properties of new synthetic materials that are knotted in modern times.
The aesthetic value of knots has been expressed through the art form of shibari (also
known as sibari) in Japan.
***
Our life is a looped carpet. It is woven with knots. The front side is decorated,
patterned,and the reverse side is a meaningless mess... There is a story that teaches us a valuable
lesson:
The grandson, who is sitting on the opposite side of the hana (loom), asks:
- What are you doing, grandma?
- I weave beauty...
-"Beauty?... It's a colorful, messy knot.." - thought the grandson. When he came in front of
the loom, he couldn't hide his surprise: what her grandmother had woven was really a beauty
made up of colorful and mysterious patterns that complemented each other...
The child grew up. Whenever he encountered incomprehensible and confusing events that
made difficulties for him, he turned to God:
- Oh God, what are you doing?
And every time he got the answer he heard in childhood:
- I weave beauty...
When we encounter complicated and tangled, incomprehensible and confusingthings in
life, when we come across many knots and broken threads, unnecessary gaps, we should know
that this is just the lining side of it. The time will come when we see the finished work of the
wise Creator, the picture of our lives woven with colorful knots, and it will be more beautiful
than we can imagine... like the "Khanliq" carpet of the Khan's daughter.
Tying a knot is easy, untying it is difficult... We need to be patient.It is weakness to cut and
throw away every knot. Knots that cannot be untied have moral implications that outweigh pure
intentions.They can be cut from the root... Also, when the cup of patience is full... The
"Karabakh knot" that the world cannot untangle (maybe it doesn't want to untangle) is crushed
by the clenched fist of our people and resolutely axed by our army...
It is resentment, grief and pessimism, envy and jealousy, hatred and anger that bind our
thoughts and emotions. The sooner we get away from these feelings and thoughts, the more
tightly we protect our inner world from knots.
Let's free our soul from knots, that is from negative emotions and feelings. Let us cultivate
common sense and tenderness, compassion and mercy, respect and love in our hearts. Let us not
allow life to become a hardship, or our existence to suffer from humiliation...
KNOT is a contradictory notion. Like the life we live...
May our path be far away from the knots that are a heavy burden... May we always be in
joy, happiness, wedding-knots... Each of us!
Oktay Samadov (Azerbaijan)
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