Stories for Parents, Children and Grandchildren – Volume 2

'Peace is not what we find in a place that is free of noise, problems and hard work; peace is what allows us to preserve the calm in our hearts, even in the most adverse situations. That is its true and only meaning.'

You are in a city, along with a lot of other people, and it is highly likely that, at this very moment, various people are sheltering in their hearts the same hopes and anxieties that you are sheltering in yours.

Let us go further: you are a microscopic speck on the surface of a ball. This ball spins around another ball, which, in turn, is located in one tiny corner of a galaxy along with millions of other similar balls.

This galaxy forms part of something called the Universe, full of vast star clusters. No one knows exactly where this Universe begins and ends.

This does not mean that you are not of vital importance; you struggle, you strive, you try to improve, you have dreams, you are made happy or sad by love. If you were not alive, something would be missing.

God judges a tree by its fruits, not by its roots.

Wings and roots
'Blessed is he who gives his children wings and roots,' says a proverb.

We need roots. There is a place in the world where we are born, where we learn a language, where we discover how our ancestors overcame their problems. At a given point, we become responsible for that place.

We need wings. They show us the endless horizons of the imagination, they carry us towards our dreams, they lead us to distant places. They are the wings that allow us to know the roots of our fellow human beings and to learn from them.

Blessed is he who has wings and roots, and wretched

A life that ends with death is a life not worth living.'

'A life that ends with death is a life not worth living.'

'Peace is not what we find in a place that is free of noise, problems and hard work; peace is what allows us to preserve the calm in our hearts, even in the most adverse situations. That is its true and only meaning.'

The ends never justify the means, however noble those ends might be. If you steal for me today, tomorrow you might end up stealing from me

the child has four qualities that we should never forget. A child is always happy for no reason. A child is always busy. When a child wants something, he or she shows great persistence and determination in demanding that thing. Lastly, a child is always very quick to stop crying.'

A garden, like life, needs to be seen in its totality. If we linger over the beauty of one detail, the rest will seem ugly.'