A Little Great Message

There is a little great book that follows me wherever I go. It's entitled "The Journey To The East" and was written by the German-Swiss poet, novelist and painter Hermann Hesse (1946 Nobel Prize laureate for Literature). It  was published in Germany in 1932 and it is not usually mentioned among his most famous works. I have read many of them, too, and I like them. But none reach the depth of my spirit as this short story which narrates of a mysterious pilgrimage that numerous characters (people who really existed and  others who belong to literature) from different countries, from all historical ages carry out simultaneously, on separate planes of experience and of awareness. It is a mesmerizing narration and, while reading, you realize you never know for sure where the action is actually taking place and when the facts narrated are happening. But the atmosphere is real, you can feel it on your skin, yet it is all like a dream. I won't tell what the story is precisely about, in case you might be interested in reading it. But I want to share a few words that I particularly like. One of the main characters says something like, "When life is beautiful and happy, it is just a game! Of course, you can make anything else out of it: a duty, a war, a prison, but none of these make it better" (loosely translated). Every time I read these words, I have to stop and reflect about the truth they imply. Can life be considered a "game", a "play"? Well, didn't Shakespeare write that life is a stage and we all play a part upon it? Someone else declared that life is like a movie of which we are the script writer, the director and the  protagonist. So, in definitive, it's up to each of us, and therefore to you, too, to decide what we want to write in the plot, how we plan to direct it and the way and style we choose to act it out. It's a great responsibility, isn't it? How aware are you of the power you have in your hands? Do you believe that it is really up to you to determine how your life is going to be carried out? If you do, never forget that  you always have at your disposal the best tool that can help you in this great undertaking: the magic word attitude.