My Belief (4)

I identify myself, if I’m really forced to do so, with that which passes. I identify with the clouds crossing the sky, with the seasons which go, but don’t come, with the birds which fly through the air but leave no trace, with the wild flowers which open up in the fields and in sympathy for them, I fear the deathly hand of a passerby or the hungry mouth of an animal; I identify with those who have the same eye for the infinite beauty of life and its inexorable decay; with those who, notwithstanding the noise all around us, know that they are alone; I identify myself with those who know how to experience a world which makes no sense and who, in spite of this, try to give a sense to everything they think, say or do.

I identify myself, if I’m really forced to identify with anybody, with all those who suffer the injustices and cruelties of this world; with all those who fight to their last breath to eradicate such injustices and cruelties; with all those who seek to make of every moment an eternity; with all those who do not strive for anything at the cost of their brothers, but who live in peace and fraternity with them.

I identify myself, if I’m really forced to, with those who, when they find themselves in a small, leaky boat, creaking under the storming fury of the sea, those who have no idea of the direction to go, but who row, row, row despite everything, perhaps even with an oar taken from the wreck of another boat, but who simply continue to row.

I identify with those who know that while they are alive, they are only a perpetual question mark, a match burning in the midst of the tempest.

And lastly, I identify myself with all those who know that they were born in the eye of the craziest, most senseless of cyclones, and who, in spite of this knowledge, still think that life is always a marvellous experience, reserved not only for a few vicious jokers, or parasites, but for all of humanity, and while they are debating in the eye of the cyclone, can still shout the old Indian saying: such are you.

 See Ha un senso la vita?

Translated from the Italian by Joy Elizabeth Avery. Tel: 015.703954; Email: joyelizabethavery@tiscali.it