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Natalia Evgenievna Sukhinina

WHERE ARE LIVING HAPPY?

stories and essays

Foreword

ORTHODOX VISION OF THE WORLD

Russian people are Orthodox. And who is not Orthodox, his Russianness becomes doubtful. For many, this is already a commonplace since the days of Dostoevsky. But what does it mean to be Orthodox? It is not given with birth. No, Orthodoxy must be studied, brought up in Orthodoxy. But as?

Of course, to go to church: whoever places himself outside the church is inevitable outside of the faith - to whom the Church is not a mother, God is not a father. This, again, has long been indisputable, although not for everyone, so it is useful to repeat and repeat from time to time. It is imperative to read the Holy Scriptures, testing oneself with patristic wisdom, because one can read up to such heresies with one’s mind that it would be better not to take those books into one’s hands. It is necessary to comprehend the doctrinal foundations of Orthodoxy, dogmatic truths. Finally, you need to try to live the commandments, which is very difficult.

However, in following all this, we are in danger of turning the necessary into the external, formal, which does not take over the fullness of our being. You can become a priest, a proud Pharisee - and that will be of little use. After all, the Pharisee was very pious, fulfilling even more required, and nevertheless, by the very Son of God he was placed below the sinner-publican.

In order to accept the truths of Orthodoxy, you need, among other things, to assimilate them through your own life experience - then they will become not external dogma, but guidelines for salvation. Why did our ancestors sin? Because they did not have the experience of being outside of God. Actually, their punishment was a great blessing, a teaching provisionally given to all mankind for the sake of gaining the most valuable experience, without which it is impossible to be firm in following the will of God. (Not everyone benefited from this experience, but that's another topic.)

However, one does not comprehend the personal complexity of life by one's own experience. Too vast and boundless sea of \u200b\u200blife for one person. But you can use for your own good the spiritual experience of others, both good and negative. Therefore, a great thing is done by those who collect such experience bit by bit and make it the public domain. It is especially valuable if everything collected is Orthodox, that is, true, illumination and interpretation.

I admit, I always take it with great caution when reading works in which the author sets such a goal for himself. For often Orthodoxy is understood externally: it seems that it is worth remembering the name of God, pious to be touched piously - and enough. But it turns out mannerism, sussing, false piety, sugary exaltation, deliberate cloying. Orthodoxy does not tolerate this, rolling eyes and painting poses are contraindicated for him. Those works where the catchword is not said in simplicity, and all with a “pious” grin, only harm the cause by tearing away souls that do not tolerate falsehood.

The book of Natalia Sukhinina to anyone who reads it indifferently will provide a lot of useful things necessary for enriching one's own experience, since it offers a strict, sober, courageous, sometimes tough and at the same time wise, genuinely good view of life. The most valuable experience is collected here, revealing not speculatively, but on living examples - being with God and without God.

Su quinine teaches Orthodoxy. Not dogma, of course, and not church canons - there are special books for that. She teaches the Orthodox comprehension of life on simple everyday examples. And this is simply necessary for the reader, since the everyday experience is unobtrusive, but more often than the most reasonable edifications.

Who, for example, does not know the truth of St. Seraphim of Sarov, "get the spirit together, and around a thousand will be saved"? You can speculate for a long time and cleverly. For Sukhinina, this is revealed on a negative example, in an everyday situation recognizable to everyone (the story “The Last Flowers from Our Garden”): a non-peaceful spirit, despondency - they poison everything around them, make their neighbors miserable, filled with the spirit of evil. And there is not a single remembrance in vain of God's name, there is no reference to the Holy Fathers, but patristic wisdom “despondency is the delight of the devil” (St. Tikhon of Zadonsky) is too obvious to doubt it.

There is no need to retell the meaning of all the stories - you just need to read them. The author teaches to peer at people, to behold beyond the external inner essence of characters and actions. And he teaches love, which begins with sympathy for even the most unattractive person. Teaches in humility to forgive when it is so hard to forgive.

Every believer knows: God helps him in all life circumstances, in trials, in turmoil. It is only necessary with faith to seek such help. And if doubts prevail? But read about non-fictional stories that happened in the lives of ordinary people - is this not living evidence?

You read a book and involuntarily become stronger in the belief: living with faith is good and easy (not in the ordinary sense, but

Current page: 1 (total of the book is 17 pages)

Natalia Evgenievna Sukhinina

WHERE ARE LIVING HAPPY?

stories and essays

Foreword

ORTHODOX VISION OF THE WORLD

I admit, I always take it with great caution when reading works in which the author sets such a goal for himself. For often Orthodoxy is understood externally: it seems that it is worth remembering the name of God, pious to be touched piously - and enough. But it turns out mannerism, sussing, false piety, sugary exaltation, deliberate cloying. Orthodoxy does not tolerate this, rolling eyes and painting poses are contraindicated for him. Those works, where the catchword is not said in simplicity, and all with a “pious” grin, only harm the cause by tearing away souls that do not tolerate falsehood.

The book of Natalia Sukhinina to anyone who reads it indifferently will provide a lot of useful information necessary for enriching one's own experience, since it offers a strict, sober, courageous, sometimes tough and at the same time wise, genuinely good view of life. The most valuable experience is collected here, revealing not speculatively, but on living examples - being with God and without God.

You read a book and involuntarily become stronger in the belief: to live with faith is good and easy (not in the ordinary sense, but in the spiritual), without God - painfully and hopelessly. Russian people have long known: without God, not up to the threshold. And now all these stories are another confirmation of this.

One involuntary argument involuntarily comes to mind, which probably was not included in the author’s calculation: how criminally think and behave those who are still fighting against the faith, who speak hatred of Orthodoxy with hatred. What are they condemning a person to, all the people, trying to drive into their consciousness their depressingly vulgar stereotypes about human self-sufficiency, about pluralism, about consumer ideals? Those who fight in hysterics should talk about the need to teach children the basics of Orthodoxy, dooming the people to degeneration and death. The statistics are frightening: we are in first place for suicides in youth. And do not deceive yourself: in unbelief, in godlessness, this will become more and more aggravated. What do the warriors with faith achieve? Do not know what they are doing? Someone in their own complacency and stupid self-confidence does not really know, but someone ...

Man leads through life, protecting from falls (and we often resist it - and fall after all), the providential will of God. However, one should not assume that this simple thought is primitively simple. It just often requires a genuine feat of faith, because the Orthodox requirements for a person are sometimes strictly paradoxical and unacceptable at the level of everyday consciousness. In this sense, the story “A sad flutist at a fun bakery” becomes a kind of test for testing our faith. Our whole being resists the choice that the participants in the narrated story humbly made, who obeyed the will of the old man. But the spiritual wisdom of the elder is only a consequence of not his own arbitrariness, but of spiritual comprehension of the Providence. Resist Providence - always doom yourself to impending disaster. It's easy to say, but go and try it when it touches you. After all, we judge everything from our limited time space, and everything seems to us as if we know best where everyone is our good. Providence determines everything according to the laws of eternity, and from eternity, no matter how wise, it is always more visible. Not accepting this in our own limited reason, we are burned, being in a lack of faith. And if we accept, even in spite of our internal protest, we get what we hope for a long time and hope (the story “Dress is overgrown”).

It is not our task, we repeat again, to list all the good lessons that can be learned from reading the stories of Natalia Sukhinina. Whoever reads will see and understand everything. In the end, it is necessary to say about the undoubted artistic merits of the proposed book. This is very important: a bad form can make sense of any very good intention. Sukhinina, however, knows how to skillfully form, succinctly builds the narrative, carefully selects the most accurate and expressive details, clearly builds the composition of the story, and correctly selects the desired intonation.

The mastery of verbal drawing can be judged even by such an excerpt (the story "An Evil Old Woman with a Blue Reticule"):

“She was small, nimble, with a small wrinkled face, deep-set eyes that burned the surrounding world with coals. She quickly walked in a hurry, very business man, entered the church gates, importantly baptized on the dome and minced to the front door. At the door, she made three more low nods and entered under the temple arches. And - work began with the elbows. The elbows were sharp, she herself was nimble, and therefore quickly seeped out through the crowd. Forward to the saline, in the center

In a limited space of text - nothing more. But the description is visibly given ... We do not just see the face of a person, but already guess the character, correlating with what we ourselves know from experience. And how unexpectedly and expressively the word was created: it was pouring out through the crowd ... This is aerobatics of verbal art.

The book of stories by Natalia Sukhinina - necessary, useful, kind. Anyone who reads will inevitably agree with this.

Mikhail Dunaev

professor, Moscow Theological Academy

PURE GOLD EARRINGS

Mary is seven years old. She walks, or rather, runs to first grade. Why is running? I do not know. Probably because she cannot walk. The legs themselves, thin, agile, nimble legs, they barely touch the ground, tangentially, almost dotted, forward, forward ... Mary of black-eyed and sharp-eyed, gimlet-coal look with curiosity at God's world, rejoicing in the bright colors of earthly being and sad from inexpressive colors. Does she like her name? She adores him. Maria ... How can such a name be disliked? Of course, Masha, Maroussia, Manya is not so harmonious, sometimes I don’t want to respond, but she responds. You will not respond, but she was called to where it is interesting. Maria lives in an Orthodox family, she has three older sisters and not a single younger one. Pets love her, but do not pamper her. Maria herself understands that she won’t bring indulgence to good and learned from the cradle that she must be content with little. She was content until that unforgettable day arrived.

She rode through the puddles, and the satchel beat her back painfully, which was fun, so fun: she wasn’t asked in mathematics today! And at home today - pies! Maria went to school, and her eldest sister Lena set the dough:

- You’ll come from school, and they’re hot ...

There are such days. Everything goes well, even through puddles it jumps easily and gracefully, now how I’ll run away ... And - I got up. And the black gimlet eyes lit up with delight. A beauty was walking towards Mary. Her ashen hair flowed over her shoulders, her walk was easy and independent, in her eyes - a generous condescension to all human weaknesses combined. And in the ears - earrings! Insanity, not catkins! Flickering, trembling lights in the sun. Mary even thought they were ringing. Like spring droplets - a bell, a bell ...

The girl’s heart beat under a blue jacket on a synthetic winterizer, louder than this ring, ring ... The sun went dark. The taste of the expected pies has become inappropriate and rude. The beauty passed by, gracefully passing a large puddle sparkling in the sun. And Mary stopped in front of the puddle in impotence - not to jump over. Lightness in the legs gave way to lead weight. She dragged herself home and with a sweep launched her satchel into a green furry hare sitting peacefully on the sofa and staring indifferently at the wall calendar with views of winter Toronto. The hare humbly subsided under the weight of the tricky Mary textbooks. And she herself, as she was in the jacket, curled up next to the hare, turned away to the wall and cried bitterly. Mom came, sat next to her. Silently put her hand on his hot daughter’s head. The eldest sister came and put a plate of pies on the table next to her. The youngest of the older sisters came, scared:

- Well, what are you, Mash, what are you?

There was no dad, he worked on the evening shift, and another sister, she was at the institute. Those gathered around the sofa were waiting for Mary's explanations.

And they heard them:

“I want earrings,” Maria squeezed out sobbing, “small, made of pure gold.” But you will never buy them for me ... - and again she roared, bitterly spreading tears over her unhappy face.

In the evening, when everyone gathered, and Mary, tired of the shock of the day, slept soundly, the “advice at Fili” on the right tactics and wise strategy began in the kitchen. Of course, the family budget will not be able to handle earrings for Maria. And why does a little girl need such pampering? Three daughters grew up without these vagaries, and Masha will be killed, we must talk to her strictly. To whom? Dad? Older sister? Mom? Mom.

- You know, this is a very expensive thing and we can not do it. Do you see a mink coat on someone, do you also want to? This is not good, we are Orthodox people, luxury is not good for us. You’ll grow up, learn, go to work ...

Maria was horrified by the long road to her cherished dream. Go crazy - grow up, learn. Earrings wanted now. Bright little lights, golden droplets burned through the heart, and in a sweet languor, it whined and murmured against maternal logic.

- A hundred years will pass. I want it now! Don’t buy me anything, neither winter boots, nor a sweater, well, buy earrings ...

- Stop the whims. You took fashion - to demand. You won’t get any earrings.

The jumping girl was sad and sad. And she had to meet the beautiful temptress? And here's what’s interesting: the cruel mother’s sentence “you won’t get any earrings” inflamed her heart even more. She only wanted to talk about earrings.

She stood in front of the mirror and imagined herself happy, smiling, with earrings in her ears. Jin - turned right, jin - turned left.

- Well, buy ...

- Masha, stop it.

“Well, I don’t need winter boots.”

- How much can one say about one?

- Oh please...

Received a cuff from the youngest of the older sisters. Cried. And - again for her.

The decision came unexpectedly. She realized that she would never be pitied by her stubborn stubborn family. We must go the other way. And the path was determined by her.

Sunday turned out to be gray, heavy, slushy.

- I'm going for a walk.

- In such weather? But not to long.

Running, not looking back, to the train. I got up in the vestibule, buried my nose in the glass, just not for the controllers. She is only four stops away. Her in Sergiev Posad. To the Lavra. To the Monk Sergius.

A huge line in the Trinity Cathedral to the cancer with the relics of St. Sergius. Got up at the tail, a small, black-eyed cane girl with the most serious intentions. She will ask the Rev. for earrings. They say he is a great prayer book, hears everyone, comforts everyone. And she is Orthodox, baptized, her mother takes her to the church, takes communion, she even tries to fast. Does she, the Orthodox Christian Mary, have no right to ask the Monk for help? Rain is coming. The woman in front let her under the umbrella. Slowly, slowly, to cancer ...

An elderly woman with tears of despair fell to her knees - help!

Maria for a moment doubted her decision. People have trouble, they ask for help in trouble, and I ask for earrings ... The Monk will have no time left for me, there are so many people, and everyone asks - for serious!

But as soon as I climbed a step in front of the cancer, I forgot about everything except the catkins. The little sparks of prayer knocked out the little knees. His eyes were dry, but his heart was trembling.

The houses were worried. But Maria resolutely went into the kitchen and asked for food. Pets looked at each other - let go. And the next day she went to Lavra again. Right after school without going home. There were fewer people, and she quickly faced holy cancer. Again she asked - stubbornly and persistently. The third time is failure. Maria in the Lavra was discovered by a friend of her older sister Lena.

- You are alone? Do they know at home?

Well, of course, reported. “And you know, your Masha ...” Maria received in full for her self-will. She was stubbornly silent when the family asked why she went to the Lavra. Finally, she could not stand it and shouted:

- Yes, I asked the earrings from the Venerable! You don’t buy me. Catkins!

Long pedagogical conversations began. Mom said that the Monk should be asked for diligence in studies, he helps those who are weak in science. And you, Masha, don’t you have anything to ask the Rev.? Is everything all right with math, for example?

And again Mary was sad. Mom’s truth was ashamed of her, except to the earrings of St. Sergius, if they come to him from all over Russia for tests, exams, and control tests?

And it was evening, quiet and warm. A sunny day managed to warm the earth and it was now giving back accumulated by the gentle twilight, which arrived in time for a shift. Mom entered the house mysterious, silent and beautiful. She looked at Maria for a long time, did not rush, as usual, to rattle the kitchen utensils, fry and steam, and sat on the sofa, hugged her daughter.

“Give me your hand,” she asked quietly.

A small, cozy box lay in Mariina’s palm. And in her ...

- Earrings ... Mom, earrings! Did you buy Expensive? But I don’t need anything, boots for the winter ...

- No, daughter, this is not my gift. Rev. Sergius gave it to you.

At night, when the shocked Maria, carefully cherishing the treasured box under her pillow, was asleep, the hushed family listened to the story ...

Mom was in a hurry toward the train and her friend caught up with her. Did not see each other for a long time, like what, like a house, like children?

- Oh, and don't ask. We have a military situation at home. Mary does this. I saw someone earrings on the street and - I want these and that's it. Gold, not some. And persuaded, and punished, nothing helps. So what did she come up with? I began to go to the Lavra and pray at the crayfish of St. Sergius so that he would give her earrings!

A friend stopped in amazement.

- Earrings? Did the reverend pray? Wonders...

A quiet friend passed her mother to the train, and when she had already entered the vestibule and wanted to wave her hand, she suddenly took off her earrings:

- Take it! This is Masha.

The door closed, and the bewildered mother remained standing in the vestibule with earrings in her hands. She reproached herself all the way for her tactless tale. I went the next day to give. And she doesn’t take it: it’s not for her from me, from the Monk Sergius.

The husband of this acquaintance, Natalia, the deacon of one of the churches near Moscow. It has been a long time, but he still did not ordain priests. And they would have decided on their arrival, to establish life. And Natalya went to ask for help from the Monk Sergius. Also, like Mary, she stood a long line, also knelt before the holy cancer. Help, saint of Christ! And suddenly in prayerful zeal she promised:

- I'll sacrifice my gold earrings, help ...

Soon, Natalya’s husband was ordained. He became rector of one of the churches in the suburbs. It is time to deliver the promise. I came to the Lavra, walks in confusion: where is she with these earrings? You can’t leave it on cancer, it’s not allowed, to pass it on to someone, but to whom? I walked, walked, and I never figured out how best to thank St. Sergius with his gold earrings. She left the Lavra, and then met with Maryina’s mother. And she couldn’t believe her ears:

- Our Maria goes to the Lavra so that the Monk gives her earrings ...

I took off the golden droplets of lights. With the blessing of the reverend. And Natalya cannot break that blessing.

And Mary was not surprised at the especially expensive present, the children's heart opened towards the holy elder and sincerely relied on his help. Prayer is a special work. It has its own secret, its own laws and its own craft. Dear gift from the Monk Sergius in a small box. The special joy of the black-eyed girl, who confirmed with her pure faith and earnest, without prying eyes, prayer, the natural order of life in God, debugged by millennia.

And Maria’s ears are not pierced. And her mother is afraid to allow earrings to go to school. It really is risky. While thinking about how to proceed, Priest Maxim called. The one whose mother prayed to the Rev. And she promised to donate an expensive gift.

“Listen, Maria, there is such a thing,” he said seriously. - Our Cathedral needs to be restored, work is not endless. The frescoes require serious restoration. I want to ask you to pray that the Lord will give us strength to work for the glory of God. And as soon as we restore the frescoes, I immediately bless you to wear earrings. Agree?

“How do you bless, Father Maxim,” answered God's servant humbly.

She really wants this to happen soon. And every evening he rises in prayer in front of the icon of St. Sergius, lays down his bow to the earth, and asks, and hopes, and believes. And the cathedral is called Trinity. And in that, too, the wonderful Providence of God is visible in relief. Rev. Sergius is a minister of the Trinity from his Nativity to his blessed demise. All the Trinity monasteries and churches of Russia live and grow stronger with prayers. And this one he will not leave without his spiritual nourishment, especially since there is a special prayer house for the temple, a little girl with the beautiful name of Mary. Black-eyed Thumbelina, which will be very to face the earrings of the purest gold in the world.

PICNIC AT THE DEER RIVER

The sunflower turned out to be bolder than its notorious counterparts: they huddled together on a sunny hillock, and this impudently lifted up his scalloped nose right at the side of the road. And standing like a soldier, on the alert, even before the coolest foreign cars his back does not bend.

- Beauty! - exclaimed mother Varvara.

“Beauty,” our driver Volodya confirmed.

“Beauty,” I said.

We got out of the car to take a picture with a sunflower. Mother hugged him carefully, pressed him to her monastic dress, and looked through the lens through the large glasses sad eyes framed by a black apostle.

- I will take this photograph to Australia ...

Do not calm the sadness that rolled to the mother’s heart. To amuse her, I begin to philosophize:

- Here I lived a sunflower on the sidelines, and on you, made a dizzying career and already went to Australia. This is what it means to be at the right moment in the right place.

We move on, discussing the fate of a career sunflower. And Mother Siberia laid under our wheels an even tablecloth of homespun, but very fine roads. And now there’s a photo card in front of me: mother and sunflower. And there is neither one nor the other. Mother flew to Sydney, and the sunflower with her was envious of those timid losers who remained on the Siberian hillock. I am sad to look at the photo card. But the sadness of goodness, she returns to good memories.

A phone call to my apartment. A middle-aged woman clearly and slowly pronounces the words:

“I'm Mother Barbara.” Many years ago we met with you in Jerusalem. I was abbess in a monastery on the Mount of Olives, you came to us ...

I feverishly recall. Mother Barbara? Yes, yes, eleven years ago, when I first came to the Holy Land, I really went for a couple of hours to the Monastery of Olives, really met there with the Mother Superior, we talked a bit. But eleven years have passed.

- Do not wonder. I accidentally saw a publication signed by you. I thought, suddenly remember. The editors gave your phone.

- I came to Russia from Australia, I would like to see you ...

All my plans were instantly adjusted for the sake of this amazing meeting. We hugged as relatives. Mother Varvara has never been to Russia. Her parents left immediately after the revolution. No, no, the word "left" is wrong, it is too prosperous, calm. There was a family dinner, served the first. But then excited neighbors came running; two hours later the train was asked to transfer - you need to leave. For a couple of weeks, no more, the city is restless, everything can happen.

Her father was a Cossack chieftain. Indeed, everything could happen. They rose from the table, not recognizing the taste of Sunday soup. What were (two weeks no deadline, we will manage) rushed to the station.

And to this day these two weeks last. Parents for two years in agony, deprivation, incredible suffering traveled to Harbin. Chinese land has sheltered many unfortunate, persecuted Russians. She also became a haven for the family of the Russian Cossack chieftain who loved Russia, as the only children love this mother. It was here in Harbin that the girl Zhenya was born. A little time will pass, and she will know that she is Russian, and that life in China is forced for her family, and that an hour will come and they will return. But time passed, and mother increasingly began to repeat to her younger daughter:

- Probably, I no longer have to visit Russia, but you should definitely see her ...

Then there was a monastic tonsure with the name of Barbara, monastic obedience to the glory of God, hegumen in the Monastery of Olives, years of life in Australia. And so, for the first time in seventy-odd years, mother sets off on a journey to fulfill the order of her deceased mother, to see Russia reborn from the darkness of godlessness.

- I was afraid to go. Twenty-eight hours of flight, but that's not the point. The main thing is how they will meet me, if I can see what my late mother wanted to see.

It turns out that mother Varvara is not sitting in Moscow:

- I want to see the outback. In Ukraine it was. In the Pskov region, Novgorod. I really want to get to Solovki, but especially to Siberia.

And the other day I’m flying to Siberia, a ticket has already been bought. One Moscow acquaintance, whose parents live in Minusinsk, promised to meet and haul me around Siberia. He is visiting with them, and I invited them to stay. I talk about this mother and remember that my Moscow acquaintance once studied in Australia.

- His name is not Volodya by chance? - Mother asks and stares at me intently.

“Volodya,” I babble, already realizing that something important will happen now.

- Volodya, Volodya ... - Mother rummages in a notebook, - they gave me the phone number of Volodya, but I’m calling and the phone isn’t answering.

A familiar set of numbers. My Volodya’s phone.

“He won't answer.” He is in Minusinsk, with his parents, and in three days I will fly to him ...

“I brought him a bow from a priest from Sydney.” And still has not conveyed ...

- Mother, I have to fly to Minusinsk! With me on the same flight. We must fly to Siberia! After all, you really wanted to see the Russian outback! - I worry,

i'm afraid that my idea will seem crazy to mother, but she calmly replies:

- I would fly, but would it be polite, because I am not familiar with Volodya, his parents.

“I'm sure they will be glad.” And give the bow ...

The plane climbed. Night Moscow spread out

under us is a huge black spot. Next in the chair is mother Varvara. Lord, bless us on a long journey!

I look at the photo and remember. Maybe mother now in her distant Australia is also looking at this same photo? And the yellow sunflower between us is like a cheerful exclamation point forbidding the sadness of two Orthodox hearts: neither kilometers between us, nor continents, nor time zones, but prayer. Prayer bridge from heart to heart, saving, comforting, durable.

Do you remember, mother? We were sitting in a small courtyard near the Minusinsky Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands and two Russian women, Elena Ivanovna and Lyubov Vasilievna, a Sunday school teacher, told us about the children they were teaching?

“They are better than us.” They are cleaner than us. They will save Russia.

And you cried, mother, and were embarrassed by your tears, but they all the same - from under the glasses in thin streams. And when the Siberians, having heard that you were from distant Australia, were surprised: “how well you speak Russian!”, You, mother, were embarrassed and always repeated the same thing:

- I'm Russian. It is my native language. I lived in Harbin, but I am Russian.

Sorry, mother. People didn’t mean to offend you. For them, Australia is exotic with parrots and kangaroos, and the Russian people from Australia are also exotic for them. And the fact that you were Russian every minute shouted your eyes, and your inquiring mind did not want idleness:

“What tree is that, maple?” Does not look like. Is this rye earning? Yes, yes, rye, I see. And what do people sell in buckets? Chanterelles! Whole buckets, how interesting! Look horse! And the boy sleeps in the cart, what a charming kid. A herd of cows ... Big, but why are they all red?

Mother absorbed Russia eagerly, like a traveler yearning for a well. I remember when we went to rest in the house of the priest Father Vasily in the village of Ermakovsky, my mother asked for permission to look at their garden. Quiet came back and asked me:

“Please take a picture of the potato field and the hut behind the house.” A piece of Russia. I have to show a photo in Australia, there are many Russians! But not everyone can be here.

The daughter of Vasily’s father, Nastya, we didn’t have time to blink an eye, cooked soup.

- How old are you? Seven? And cooked the soup? Can I open the lid? Dill, onion, carrot, and it smells like! Did she cook it herself?

Nastya poured us on a full plate. Mother was still surprised, and we were surprised at mother - what a wonder, girl cooked soup?

- In Australia, children can not cook soup?

- Yes, they can from sachets. Threw in boiling water and done, but the real one is unlikely.

We compared a lot - with us, with them. They give birth a little, they don’t want, and after all, why didn’t they invent anything to help mothers. Press the buttons in time and no problems. And here, however, priestly families are large, especially in the villages. But the city Orthodox now also changed their minds, give birth, baptize. And in the temples we have closely, especially on holidays. Mother like a sponge, absorbs everything, remembers everything, puts everything into a deep memory piggy bank. And Volodiny's name day will definitely fall into it, into this piggy bank. The noble ones turned out name days, with homemade wine, gifts, pies. Volodya's mother, Lyudmila Ivanovna, undertook to cook pies, with blueberries, cabbage, eggs. Mother volunteered to help. Each mistress has her own secrets? Not always. It turned out that both Lyudmila Ivanovna and mother bake cakes in exactly the same way. How many eggs do you add to the dough? And I have so much. Do you knead the dough for a long time? And I am the same. And how do you chop pies? Oh, and I'm exactly the same! Two housewives are busy at the stove, two Russian women. They have different life experiences, different mentality, different fates. But they are Russian, and for them the concepts of hospitality, cordial disposition to the neighbor are the same and are the secrets of pies. Name day succeeded.

And tomorrow early in the morning we will leave for the Sayan Mountains.

“He who did not see the Sayan did not see Siberia,” said Volodya's father, Vadim Petrovich.

And my mother and I thought that we had seen a little Siberia. With the breathtaking steepness of the cliff, the mighty taiga seems like a raging sea. It is seriously foaming in waves, and it seems that you are not standing over a cliff at all, but are making a courageous flight in an airplane over an ocean abyss. In the distance are mountain peaks covered with snow, like longed-for shores, beckoning with a saving solidity.

- Look, there is a sleeping Sayan, - Volodya points towards a long mountain range.

Indeed, a giant hardened in stone lies on its back, humbly folded arms on its chest, legs extended. His dream is deep and long, for how many centuries neither the cold Siberian winds nor the roll of thunder have awakened him, even to this God's beauty he is indifferent. Sleeping Sayan - the highest point of the mountain pass. Mother collected a bouquet of bright pink Ivan tea, yellow flowers of St. John's wort, honey smelling inconspicuous grass.

Natalia Evgenievna Sukhinina

WHERE ARE LIVING HAPPY?

stories and essays

Foreword

ORTHODOX VISION OF THE WORLD

Probably each of us wondered if he was happy. He also wondered: “Where do the happiest people live?” As if on Earth there is some place where you can get and guaranteed to find peace and serenity.

In fact, no matter in what ideal country we are from the point of view of politics and economics, happiness is what we create for ourselves. Psychological comfort and satisfied social needs are very important. But most of the pleasant emotions we experience thanks to the hormones that are produced in our body. With a lack of necessary hormones, you will feel the saddest person on the planet, even in a paradise.

Where the happiest people live: what is important for happiness

According to the world happiness report, which includes 150 countries, the happiest people live in Finland. The five most happy countries in 2018 also included: Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland. These countries maintain a balance of prosperity and social capital. People trust in the government and feel stability in all important areas. In 2018, the opinions of immigrants from each country were added to all the aspects under consideration.

However, all these factors are external. They depend on society, government, the economy, etc. Yes, they largely form psychological comfort. But in happiness there are physiological indicators. Let's see what indicators prevail in happy people, and how to independently influence the “hormones of joy and pleasure”.

How health in happy countries affects health

In general, in happy countries, life expectancy is much higher. This is due to the ability to meet basic needs: eat normally, relax and not experience regular stress.

In Europe, for example, people work significantly less, and there is enough salary for everything they need. European supermarkets do not work on Sundays, and France has a very sparing schedule for enterprise workers. The French, as a rule, work from 9 to 12, then rest for 2-3 hours, and then return to work until 18 or 19 hours. Of course, this is not the case everywhere, but in European countries they honor the right to rest, weekends and vacations.

Of course, with such a work schedule, people do not experience either physical or psychological stress, which positively affects their general well-being.

How to be happy in any country in the world

What if there is no opportunity and desire to move to a happy country? It is worth remembering that wherever you live - your inner mood will always be with you. You cannot escape and hide from your own thoughts and beliefs.

Psychological happiness is, of course, important. It affects overall well-being, but there are physiological factors that we can change on our own. Our hormones are responsible for satisfaction and a feeling of happiness, and we are able to influence their production. To do this, you need to adjust your diet, reconsider the ratio of work and leisure and exercise regularly.

How to arrange a surge of hormones of joy on your own

Most often endorphins are called hormones of happiness, forgetting about dopamine and serotonin. But they also affect the feeling of happiness. The more of these hormones, the happier the person. To feel happier, you can artificially increase their level through nutrition. But with dopamine this will not work.

How to stimulate dopamine release

Dopamine is produced as a result of the pituitary gland, so nutrition does not affect it. Hormone appears as a "reward" for a pleasant time. To get dopamine, you can take a walk in the fresh air or regularly set aside time for a hobby. The hormone is also produced during sex and sports.

What to do to produce endorphins

Endorphins will be produced if you regularly eat bananas, chocolate, grapes, strawberries and oranges. But their life expectancy will be short. Therefore, the production of pleasure hormones must be supported by walks and trips to nature. It is important to know that infectious diseases, weak immunity, and the improper distribution of labor and rest reduce the production of endorphins.

These hormones help us to feel more fun and joyful, suppress stressful, lethargic and depressive states, and also improve mental activity.

Of course, every person on Earth dreams of a long and prosperous life in all respects. So sometimes you want to leave a frosty and snowy city in a cozy country where there are no wars, a frantic pace of life, polluted air. But in what cities and countries is happiness lurking? Although everyone has their own idea of \u200b\u200bhim. Nevertheless, researchers and sociologists have already developed a conditional measure of happiness, on the basis of which annually lists of geographical places where the most live are compiled. What is needed to be sure of tomorrow? It turns out that there are not so many: social guarantees from the state, competent government policy, and a certain level of material wealth.

Of course, today a huge number of ratings are compiled about where the happiest people live. Most of them are built on the basis of standard criteria: level of financial well-being, environmental situation, size of GDP, degree of corruption, potential life expectancy, freedom of life choice.

Today's list

So where do the happiest people live?

Think in the USA or Germany? Not at all. “Yankees” took only the 15th position of the rating, and the Germans - 26th. The inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom were in 84th place, while the Russians took 64th. The British are placed on the 21st position in the list of the happiest, and the French are placed on the 29th.

Then who is in first place in the list of countries where happy people live? The ranking was headed, according to the results of sociological studies, by the states of Northern Europe. Moreover, for several years they have held the palm.

Now let's move on to the practical side of the question of where the happiest people live?

Denmark, Aarhus

The city is located on the east coast in a cozy harbor. Industry is highly developed here, and people enjoy themselves by water skiing and yachting. In Aarhus, music festivals, art exhibitions are regularly organized, theater plays are staged. Visitors to the Danish city enjoy spending time in local cafes and restaurants. Residents from the windows of the houses have a picturesque view of the North Sea.

Norway, Oslo

You have no idea where the happiest people in the world live?

Sociologists claim to be in the Norwegian capital. Here you can admire the amazing beauties of nature that you will not see anywhere else. The capital of the ancient Vikings is surrounded by majestic forests and massive mountain ranges. In the city, guests will always be offered an interesting cultural program: you can go to a concert, festival, see unique sculptures that adorn local parks and squares, and also visit the famous opera house. Oslo has a huge number of bars, clubs, supermarkets. Economic development of the city provides the oil industry.

Switzerland, Geneva

Even where happy countries live would be incomplete without Switzerland. Still, who will be indifferent to the snowy alpine mountains and the majestic ridges of the Jura? The picturesque city in the south-west of the country is located in the center of this natural palette of colors. Located along the building of the Cathedral of St. Pierre is striking in its architectural sophistication. In the winter, tourists from all over the world come to Geneva to go skiing and snowboarding on the local mountain slopes. In the summer, many travelers enjoy relaxing on the beaches.

The city has an amazingly beautiful fountain - Jet Deo, which every tourist who comes to this hospitable country should see.

Netherlands, Utrecht

We will continue to consider the issue of where the countries of the northern part of Europe live in this respect occupy leading positions. However, in a state such as the Netherlands, comfortable conditions have also been created for man to “age”. In particular, in the Dutch city of Utrecht, people in every sense feel excellent. It draws inspiration from artists, musicians, poets. The abundance of pubs, bars and cafes allows tourists to taste the spicy dishes of national cuisine. Visitors to the city can enjoy the way people travel by boat down the waterway. In summer, the famous film festival is held here, where eminent actors and directors come. A vibrant life and an atmosphere of ease make Utrecht a city of happiness.

Sweden, Malmo

This amazing city is connected to the Danish capital by the Öresund Bridge, so those who wish to see the sights of Copenhagen can easily go through it.

Canada, Kingston

On the North American continent, there is also a city whose inhabitants are content with life. We are talking about Canadian Kingston, which is located in the eastern province of Ontario. A wide cultural program is also offered here: from music festivals to theater performances. All conditions for creativity are created here. Residents of the city adhere to the principles of tolerance and freedom of expression. Of course, these factors have made people feel happy in Kingston.

Finland, Helsinki

The Finnish capital recorded a minimum level of corruption of officials.

There is a high level of quality of life and education, the difference in incomes is insignificant. The availability of quality medicine services and the optimal balance between leisure and work - for many people, such factors are the key to happiness. Again, culture is developed at a high level in Helsinki: the abundance of theaters, philharmonic societies, museums is a vivid confirmation of this. The architectural appearance of the Finnish city is represented by the Art Nouveau style, which amazes tourists with its splendor.

Russian cities

Of course, a huge number of people are interested in the question of where the happiest people of Russia live.

According to the results of opinion polls, the capital of the Chechen Republic, the city of Grozny, appeared on the list of leaders. Also, Russians feel comfortable in cities such as Kazan, Tyumen, Surgut. But the Russian capital in the ranking of the "happiest" cities took only 52 place.

The results of a sociological study have shown that the degree of financial well-being is essential for Russians, but at the same time not a determining criterion that makes a person happy. The main factors, as it turned out, are the level of security, a sense of change for the better in the city where the person lives, the environmental situation. For this reason alone, cities have emerged as leaders whose appearance has changed dramatically in recent years: Sochi, Grozny, Kazan.

Happy peoples

Today, sociologists have answered the question: "Where do the happiest peoples of the world live"? If we talk about the territory of Central Asia, then in the first place were the Kazakhs. Researchers said Filipinos are the most smiling in Asia. Further descending are the peoples living in the territory of Laos, Turkey, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Israel. The highest level of dissatisfaction with life is recorded among Uzbeks.

Residents of the South American continent consider themselves happy. The first place ranking took Brazilians.

As for the European part, the list of the happiest peoples is led by the inhabitants of Macedonia. The second position is occupied by Romanians.

Unlucky

But the most “unhappy" countries, according to experts, are Benin, Rwanda, Burundi, Syria, Togo. Residents of these states are tired of unrest and poverty.