Become a proverb à la Ahti from Control
"And we all disappear like a fart in Sahara." - Ahti
Dear hopeful reader,
You may be wondering who Ahti is, and whether you should play Control (and Alan Wake II). I will answer your second query first. No, you do not need to, but why not? As for who Ahti is…sit by the hearth, listen to the dying song of tree limbs, watch the spell in dance of flame and shadow you almost never see. I will tell you.
Ahti is not a human in form of one. He is as old as the oldest house, a guard of doors, a guide for those who enter. He could be a god who delivers fish and seals from dark deep. But maybe he croons of nightless nights with his fellow doorkeepers, while still he walks other worlds and those within them—no hiss can hiss him out. He hears disquiet in your heart, powers you with wisdom and song.
Like an altered telephone, whispers echo of him saying:
“Better than somebody with no face at all.”
“The matter is a steak.”
“What you leave behind, you find in front of you.”
“The sun will shine even into a heap of twigs.”
“I can tell you are not a yesterday’s grouse’s son.”
“A fox never runs out of tricks.”
“And we all disappear like a fart in Sahara.”
“Onwards, said the granny in the snow.”
“Burn it into a reindeer, not into a moose.”
“You can never know in which tree the devil sits.”
“Don’t have to run with your head as your third leg.”
“When the panic is biggest, the help is also near.”
“Safe as in the Lord’s purse.”
Also read: Grim Fandango: it's poetry night at the Blue Casket
Listen. If you hear soft ringing of the uncanny but familiar, you are not alone. Ahti speaks Finnish in English, word for word, syllable by syllable. Lost in translation, yet the tongue of the ancients remembers when you wrap yourself around your gut and feel a tremor supreme.
Ahti is oftentimes proverbial, if not always. And today we will be too. In a chasm of what makes us human, enlightened, and connected, words long-buried long for water to grow like maple leaves, bellflowers, and swallows and release from our mouths, feathered and unfettered.
To let them out, there are rules—or gentle guidance—to follow. Think of flora and fauna around you. Think about the elders and their courage. Think on the darkness of the world, the light that shines it away. Prayers and your chosen God. Something funny, silly, a pun.
Birth words that will carry and cradle you. Words that will connect you to yourself, to others. Words that will be timely as much as timeless. Words that will make you unsinkable. Words that become you.
Words such as:
A rotten raspberry among the fresh will rot the rest.
Do not walk beneath birds in flight if you do not want surprises.
The heart knows what the eyes refuse to see.
Love as pure as babies and doves will never hurt on purpose.
Among the barking, biting dogs, be the suave, silent cat.
They who live in the past or future never find peace in their present.
Surround yourself with friends named Faith, Hope, Love, and Wisdom.
Move like water, and you will never get stuck between rocks.
A rose in soil has more use than dead.
Words adorn, but actions show the naked truth.
Darkness is only light switched off not for long.
When you are ready, your fate finds you.
Alone, not lonely.
Also read: We root ourselves to earth through song
As the fire dies, twigs turn to ash, I will tell you again. Ahti is many things, all things. He may be a sage. He may be your grandfather or his grandfather. He could be a pause or bridge in a song. The dulcet snore of your neighbor’s cat, the loud tickle in your belly. Maybe the kiss of dry heat in a sauna, the entrancing loop in a VHS recording. And those words you forgot but knew all along, in the depths of your depth, on the tip of your tongue. Ahti is in us, is us.
What words live in and out of you?
And so you become them.
Yours hopefully,
Nadia
Nadia! There’s some rich wisdom in these proverbs, but my favourite lines of all..?
“Birth words that will carry and cradle you. Words that will connect you to yourself, to others. Words that will be timely as much as timeless. Words that will make you unsinkable. Words that become you.” I’m going to print these off and have them on the wall by my desk! I think they might be some of the most beautiful and inspiring words I’ve ever seen. You spin magic, my dear, truly ✨ Thank you.
The words that reverberate the most within me all have to do with nature: the smell of damp earth, the hollow thunk of boulders in a rockslide, the icy blue of a crevasse. Thanks for reminding me of them, Nadia!