It was a day like any other. The people at the station, running around like ants, trapped in the need to obey their clocks. When the train arrives, everyone fights and squeezes in, preventing passengers from getting off. Nothing new, just everyday social chaos. Just another ordinary day. Inside the train, I see a woman passing from passenger to passenger, offering edible industrialized junk.
I notice that she is accompanied by a child (a little girl), carrying a large bag full of goods, which, with so much weight, she almost drags on the floor. I stare at the little girl and begin, as usual, to be depressed by the harsh reality of the world. I think about the opportunities that she and her family were deprived of, that she should be at school or playing… and also that there are worse places to be than next to that woman.
The girl, as if noticing my gaze, raises her head and our eyes meet and, in an attitude of typically childish innocence, instead of feeling uncomfortable and looking away, as any adult would, she replied to him with a gigantic smile, able to clear the darkness of any heart.
As I left the station, I stared up at the sky and realized that the sun was struggling to overcome the cold gray that covered it. I remembered the little girl and her smile, so I smiled to myself. Maybe today wasn't a day like the others, because I realized that to be happy with yourself, you don't need much, but knowing that you are doing your best to become a better person with each passing day. It is important not to believe that you are incapable just because you have done something wrong, practice forgiveness with yourself and remember that there will always be a new day to try again and this time, knowing what not to do to succeed.
Inner peace will emerge when you realize that the simplest things in life are the ones that give us more hope for better days, you will better deal with your darkest feelings and learn that for every end there is a new beginning. A full stop is enough for your life to start walking the path to happiness.
Text written by Roberta Torres from the Eu Sem Fronteiras Team.
