The lesson of the little ones

We are about to close a year that began with great hopes, like every year, but for now we have not yet seen the end of the wars, those shown with great fanfare by the media and not even those, very numerous, of which no one cares about or worries about, but which are equally bloody and bring about destruction. Once again we are faced with the impotence of reaching out and saving the world. Like Moses, we would like to raise the stick and stop the violent waves of the sea that want to hurl themselves at the people in danger, who look to salvation beyond the sea: but only our weakness answers us

Man's life is marked by the experience of fragility, by "not being able", but most often one turns one's head the other way and does not want to look at it. This is how we miss many opportunities to make our life a success, not according to the canons of a blind society, but according to those of a truly human humanity. Today's society creates many artificial needs, which do not lead very far. Our weakness generates natural needs that must push us to find completeness not in those who are stronger than us, which would make us exploiters, but in those who need us, as we need them. A very strong chain is thus created with increasingly firm links between them, which allows us to climb difficult rock faces, but crowned by peaks that span vast panoramas, from which we can see the world and observe it not with a short-sighted eye, but with a free look.

When we discover that "we can't" and we accept it with serenity, we see openings, new roads, horizons that we didn't suspect: not the result of clever calculations, which are often scams, but we see life meet those who accept being weak. This allows us to discover new people, to make new friends, to attempt ventures that we didn't even bother to think about, but which turn out to be rich in fruit. It seems strange, but the phrase "It's impossible" is one of the great drivers of our life, if we don't let the anger or regret against life win within us and we don't let our heart fill with the bitter taste of being a victim .

Man has always felt crushed by natural disasters and, unfortunately, he has always caused them artificially because he is not guided by a sense of the common good. In everything, however, silently, an unexpected solidarity is revealed. Born in a cave in Bethlehem, little Jesus found a human warmth beyond that of Mary and Joseph, in some shepherds, people rejected by society, who welcomed a word of consolation and praised in amazement for what they had seen. It is not certain that they understood much, but they shared what they had heard and were amazed by what they saw. Anonymous people who, with their simplicity and their enthusiasm for the novelty of which they were spectators, are dear to the hearts of millions of people and have become masters of great doctors in their ignorance.

The world guided by the great powers does not give us hope, but among us there is a crowd of small, weak, fragile people and we can draw it from them; by them the world will be saved. This also teaches us to know how to evaluate what lives there and not to despise with a worldly gaze those little things that do not appear brilliant, looking for what will sooner or later betray us. Our strength is in the truth of ourselves and in the love we can have for everything we have been gifted with, even if it seems to us that it is insufficient to make a place for us in the world. If we trust the talents we have received, and do not hide them, we will be rich in serenity and peace and will be able to give them to others.


Cesare Falletti
NP December 2023