We have to dig deep within ourselves to understand the functioning of life.

         Reflections of a Writer

            We live in a turbulent world, one full of progress, technology, criminality, and terrorism, not to mention the possibility of all-out atomic war, which would probably leave only a few crippled people on earth. If we dwelt on all these variables, our lives would be filled with continuous trauma.

            We have to keep ourselves on a balanced plane in such a world. Writing keeps me in a good shape and provides a balance for me.

            I could not continue my hobby, which is writing, when I arrived in the United States, as I had to first acquaint myself with the English language. I do not pretend today

 to have mastered this language, but I now feel comfortable enough to start writing again, even with only an elementary knowledge of English, and even though  I run the risk of being misunderstood.  

            Although I am putting my words on paper, I don’t expect many people to find the time to read them, especially since there is already an abundance of written material. If someone should find a moment to read my modest stories it would indeed give me the greatest pleasure, thinking that perhaps my thoughts would have given a measure of balance to someone else.

            In the world in which we live, it is our duty to maintain stability in our lives. It is understood that every one of us has daily obligations towards his family and towards the society in which he lives. Our parents were perhaps less learned than we, but they transmitted their moral values to us, which still guide us today, and will in the future. My grandfather and father, besides fulfilling their obligations, found the time to relate stories to us

            I was too young to understand or retain these tales. Today, I recall fragments of these stories with joy, for they give me a “spiritual lift” and help me to surmount the turbulent world in which we live.

            Each of us carries within himself, since birth, different seeds, those of goodness and love as well as those of unkindness and hatred; those of sound health as well as those of future illness; those of intelligence as well as those of stupidity. It is up to us to make the effort to choose which ones to develop and which ones to keep dormant. This effort, and its results, depends on our way of live and its actions. It is not always good that makes us happy and is not always bad which saddens us. The feeling that we sense with melancholy, joy, happiness and pleasure makes us discover the essence of what is good and bad.

            Everyone is aware of the difference between “right and wrong”, “air and vacuum”, “imagination and reality”, “day and night”, “heat and cold”, “abundance and famine”, vitality and fatigue”, “diligence and indolence”, “bravery and cowardice”, “leader and follower”, and many other example which lead us to recognize the two extremes. But it still remains within us to choose what is best for us and not to leave the choice to others. It is obvious that one needs experience, but only with experience can one begin to find the right yardstick.

            If something is not always successful, we should not necessarily blame others. We must find the cause within ourselves in the same way as we discover the truth.