"Come in," God said to me,
"so, you would like to interview Me?"
"If you have the time," I said.
God smiled and said:
"My time is called eternity
and is enough to do everything;
what questions do you have in mind to ask me?"
"None that are new to you.
What's the one thing that
surprises you most about mankind?"
God answered:
"That they get bored of being children,
are in a rush to grow up,
and then long to be children again.
That they lose their health to make money
and then lose their money to restore their health.
That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present, such that they live
neither for the present nor the future.
That they live as if they will never die,
and they die as if they had never lived..."
God's hands took mine and we were silent.
After a long period, I said,
"May I ask you another question?"
"As a Parent, what would you ask
your children to do?"
God replied with a smile:
"To learn that they cannot make anyone love them.
What is important is who they love.
To learn that it takes years to build trust,
and a few seconds to destroy it.
To learn that what is most valuable
is not what they have in their lives,
but who they have in their lives.
To learn that it is not good
to compare themselves to others.
There will be others better or worse than they are.
To learn that a rich person is
not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.
To learn that they should control their attitudes,
otherwise their attitudes will control them.
To learn that it only takes a few seconds
to open profound wounds in persons we love,
and that it takes many years to heal them.
To learn to forgive
by practicing forgiveness.
To learn that there are persons
that love them dearly, but simply
do not know how to show their feelings.
To learn that money can
buy everything but happiness.
To learn that while at times
they may be entitled to be upset,
that does not give them the right
to upset those around them.
To learn that great dreams
do not require great wings,
but a landing gear to achieve.
To learn that true friends are scarce,
he/she who has found one
has found a true treasure.
To learn that it is not always enough
that they be forgiven by others,
but that they forgive themselves.
To learn that they are
masters of what they keep to themselves
and slaves of what they say.
To learn that they shall reap what they plant;
if they plant gossip they will harvest intrigues,
if they plant love they will harvest happiness.
To learn that true happiness is
not to achieve their goals but to learn
who they are through striving towards them.
To learn that happiness is a decision.
They decide to be happy
with what they are and have,
or die from envy and jealousy of what they lack.
To learn that two people can look at the same thing
and see something totally different.
To learn that those
who are honest with themselves
without considering the consequences
go far in life.
To learn that even though
they may think they have nothing to give,
when a friend cries with them,
they find the strength to appease the pain.
To learn that by trying to hold on to loved ones,
they very quickly push them away;
and by letting go of those they love,
they will be side by side forever.
To learn that even though
the word "love" has many different meanings,
it loses value when it is overstated.
To learn that they can never
do something extraordinary for Me to love them;
I simply do.
To learn that the shortest distance
they could be from Me is the distance of a prayer."