Man In A Very Good Mood

40" x 30"
Oil
1995

One evening we had a few friends for dinner and as usual; very heated conversations filled the whole dining room. Everybody was talking all at once; everyone was happy, driving in his or her point of view, and all were quite happy and excited.

As for me, with me being hard of hearing, I cannot participate in all those debates; I am limited just to look and I see it as in Silent Movies. When there are a lot of people talking, my hearing aid acts as a funnel to a bottle; I receive all the sounds all at once! Imagine!!! I can hear well enough when a person talks to me directly.

One of the guests wanted to hear from me some of my life's stories. I told him some of my war adventures, about Nazi Prison Camps, my activities in the French Underground during the Nazi Occupation, and so on. He looked around at my paintings on the walls and said, "I don't see all the horror and suffering you went through in your art." Well, he happened to be a psychologist. He was very surprised not to see any trace of trauma or suffering in my paintings. "One would never guess," he added.

I remember once in Northern Caucausus, in August 1942, in between battles there was a short stop. The stops were most precious moment in the world. Long marches, day and night, battles, attacks, retreat, lack of food, and hardest of all, lack of sleep - so, any stops were gifts from heaven. I went a few yards away from my war comrades and lay down in the grass. I pulled out one grass and started chewing it. It had a sweet taste. I stretched all my limbs, and I enjoyed so much just to be lying on the grass without any movement.

I looked to the distance above high grass, seeing a few houses far away, and there was an overwhelming silence and peace which enveloped me. I forgot about war and worries; I felt so happy and I wanted it to last longer. The smell of the wild herbs, and the cricketing of insects filled the air and me with such a happiness.

I went through many, many experiences in life, and few of them stay as sharp in my memory...as sharp as shining diamond. This was one of these exceptional experiences. Hence, a man in very good mood. Forget the worries and live your life.