A novice asked his master:
– “How should I act to have a new life?”
After a long silence, the master replied:
– “Change your life”.
– “But master”, insisted the novice, “I have already changed”.
Again a long silence was heard and the master with his characteristic wisdom asked the novice:
– “What do you mean by changing your life?”
– “Master, I left everything behind. My family, my job, my friends. Isn't that life changing?"
After that outburst, even very simple for a candidate to become a priest, the master, certainly thinking that he would have a lot of work ahead of him, invited the novice for a walk.
– “Let's walk! God shows himself in the details, my son!”
It was late afternoon, the sun setting in the background, beautiful golden flowers with red dots embellishing the convent garden, when the master's soft but firm voice was heard again:
– “Let me tell you a little about my life. People usually think I'm smarter than I am, but I'm not ashamed to say that I'm just a hard worker. I don't have any special gifts. To tell you the truth, I only learned to read very late, I think I was your age when I started studying. In my day, there was no internet or Google. However, I did just fine without them. In school, I learned to type on a typewriter. I still remember the smell of carbon in the copies of exercises my teachers used to give us, and in those days no one had a computer.”
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– “But, master, the world has changed. Today everything is different.”
– “Yes, my son, the world has changed and has changed in every way. I remember studying about the Cold War, admiring the Twin Towers, and going to the cinema with permission only to watch movies within my age group. Films that had any references to sex or drugs were rated 18+. You are right, today everything is different. Everything has changed."
– “What were children’s games like in your day?”
– “Children in my time played in the street, interacted with neighbors and spent hours and hours outside without their parents worrying about what could happen to them. Of course, we didn't have the violence we have today.”
– “Master, today the children stay at home playing video games and surfing the internet. Many even start dating over the world wide web. Real life has become virtual. Affection, affection, touch became business. There are companies that specialize in making money from it. Sincere relationships, face to face, eye to eye, no longer exist. In short, relationships are instrumentalized.”
– “Indeed, my son, everything around us has changed a lot, some things in a positive way and others in a negative way. However, my son, it must be said that the first attitude for a person to change his life is to think more and promise less. People make so many plans these days, including losing weight, learning to drive, speaking a new language, but where are all these projects?”
– “Master, let me confess something to you: Spanish people love to make plans. They say: 'This year I'm going to be less sexist'; “I will be more present in my family'; 'I will be faithful'; 'I will practice charity'. 'I'm going to practice some sport'; 'I'm going to eat vegetables'. Promises and more promises. However, every beginning of the year is the same.”
– “My son, this is not an exclusive characteristic of the Spanish people. Every human being is like that: he makes promises, even though he knows he won't keep them. However, it all depends on one's willpower. There are things in life that only we can do. God cannot do it for us. He can even help, but only after you start your engines. New year is always hope for new life. In fact, it is hope that moves the human being. If it weren't for hope, we wouldn't be human. We would be saints or devils, or anything else but human!”
And turning to the novice, now with both hands on his shoulders, he said:
– “New life means a fresh start, regardless of the date, that is, whether it is at the beginning or end of the year. The important thing is that the new year brings all of us opportunities to discover new perspectives for old problems, to discover our own light to walk without fear of living, of being happy. After all, what really matters in this life is to be happy!”
