In Prague’s Horní Počernice, a new beekeeping centre was opened on 29 September 2020, the feast of St Michael, on the grounds of the Anthroposophical Society, and in a garden surrounded by mature acacia trees, the main lecture hall is displayed in the form of a Mongolian yurt, creating a perfect circular space for people to meet inside, where everyone can sit at the front. The surrounding garden is populated with bee hives, some of which already reveal by their geometric shape that this will be a beekeeping with a spiritual overlay.
Particularly in this day and age, when people have an intrinsic need to find deeper layers and meaning in their lives, it is proving crucial to recognize even in the seemingly ordinary the ultimate, to find the spirituality that manifests in the small things. And our ancestors knew that beekeeping was not always just about collecting honey, but that it was an activity filled with consciousness that led across the threshold of the everyday. The last reverberation in Czech literature can be found, for example, in the famous work of Božena Němcová, when it is reminded that Barunka should not forget to tell the bees when grandmother dies, so that the bees also do not leave.
The Stoliň circular centre is thus set to become primarily a cultural meeting place for people looking for a place to meet. It is meant to be a testament to the fact that every part of the earth, however small, can remind man of his earthly task, and that a visit to the garden of the twelve senses under construction can be a sign to its visitor that each of us is in fact a microcosm in which the wide world is mirrored, and that in each of our twelve senses a part of the starry sky also has its share. The green roof being built on a social facility may only be a small contribution to people’s joint care for water and the care of the landscape in an urban development, but in the context of the educational process of environmental education, even one practical example can inspire more than extensive texts of theory. Awareness of the importance of such educational activities for society is evidenced not only by the contribution of volunteer hours worked by members and friends of the SRDCEVČELE Association, but also by the financial support of many donors, including the Environmental Department of the City Hall.
Overcoming the crises of the present is only possible in a positive view of the future we are shaping together. We can learn this from the bees too. And the darkness of the blackest night can be transformed by a single lit candle. Make one yourself from real wax, perhaps on your next visit.
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