Each day of my life since childhood I felt happy at being alive; even today, from moment to moment, I discover themes to interest me — and always with eyes of youthful wonder. Other men — just as favoured as I was or more so — could find in their whole existence nothing but a reason for complaining and blasphemy.
It is from a heart filled with gratitude at my good fortune that this message is addressed to you in the firm conviction that happiness can be communicated. However unimportant personally I may be, the fact is that I did succeed in being happy ; this ought to provide encouragement for other men.
When I reached my 55th year I had the temerity to promise myself — and even to put down in writing — that if God saw fit to grant me
sendecida ante lo governa disponados expektat inkludi Kompanio riformos.
(“The Times”, 22 mars 1965)
WESTEUROPA KRESKO-RAX DEBLANDA, U.N. RAPORT DICAR
Genev, 26 mars. Westeurop kontinuir sa ekonoma spanso dun 1964, mo ye segnos ke kresko-raxos pur debli etanye, les un raport del Unat Nasyonos publat oje.
L’Ekonoma Komisyon po Europ dicir ke aven dependar dal problemos ki nun frontar Brit, Franso e Italyo.
Lo fransa e itala governos sir obligat kompresi lo kresko d’asko e produk pasanye kauzel 1963a inflado, e ye sir nil segno de ravelyo, lo raport dicir.
Ekonoma dufos Britye kulmir in un rekord del pagos-balanso deficit e lo raport previdar ke lo korsa tensados e dukados no melor lo situo “nel previdibla futur”.
It adir ke Brit shar stimuli sa exportos ut mendi lo situo. “Forti export - tensado permane mindar kambi uzos e atitudos asben lo politik de presyos e profit, e eto no oxor rapide”, it avertar.
“Mo nur es eto fat Brit movor ver un fazo de konsista kresko.”
(New York Herald Tribune, Europ. Ed., 27 mars 1965.)
BRIF A MA AMIKOS
8 Junyo 1958.
“Junior fui et etiam senui.” Yuna mi sir e ja mi oldir.
Ma lib amikos, Mi oje festar joye ma sepisa nasid.
Arivat al ser de ma viv, ki esvolvir granparte dun un del plu tumulta e sanga periodos del istor d’omeyo, mi fas zenat avedi ke, van mi jekar un rirmir on ma long paseo, mi it vidar ente onat pe un sento d’ix.
As tot omos, mi subir lo kruel kolpos d’adverso. E mi ni pir m’impedi parpreni an al maloxos d’osunos.
Dok, gre adversado e sofros, grel ont e lo vilazo spektinde un epok de maltolereso e skurismo, mi sir un vir senende ixa, e mi sar it nok.
Shak id de ma viv, dep ma infaneso, mi sentir 1’ix d’existi. Mi nok shakin-stante skoprar, e sem kol marvat aston de ma yuneso, subjekos d’interes, dunke osunos, as favorat as mi es no plude, no spir trovi in sa enta exist oso qam motiv po gronos e blasfemos.
Sar pe gredo ver ma suerto ke mi venar ve adresi et mesajo, konvinkat k’ix komunikifa. Kan senvika ma person par si, lo fakto ke mi riusir si un vir ixa shar konstitui un koragifa exemplo.
Van mi atangir ma 55a anyo, mi ir l’ozo de me promi, e uske de skribi ke, es Bondeo benvur me koncedi nok isqin anyos de viv, et last isqin anyos another fifteen years of life, this closing period would be for me the happiest of all. I have now won my rash bet — though these years too carried their full share of adversity, even to the most cruel degree.
How could such a paradox be realised ? just because true happiness cannot be eradicated ; my happiness is within me and has been my faithful, inseparable companion. It never leaves me — and I have never betrayed it.
If only you will set your mind to the task — and happiness does depend partly on a willingness to train for it — you perceive how easy it is to be happy; and happy even to the stage when the grumblers who take no account of their being themselves the builders of their misfortunes begin to think happiness is just stupidity, saying you cannot be happy unless you are a fool.
Well, perhaps they are right, since at bottom the formula for happiness consists of proverbs heard in childhood; yet in them is hidden all true wisdom. Let me give you three of them; they are old as civilisation but in them you will find the freshness of early Spring — as soon as you will allow them to imbue and become part of your very being.
Love your neighbour sincerely ; make an effort for this love to go deep down within you and not remain superficial; and then you will have discovered the dayspring of joy from which to drink happiness.
Be of good humour and smile; again effort is needed if the good intention is to be carried right through to real being.
Whether as part of your employment or not, seek out some work that you like doing — no matter how humble — and exert yourself to lavish on it all your idealism and creativity; and in this way you will map out your path through life. Even those who are disinherited in their lives can choose as their creative aim, for example, the endowing of some village with a wooden bench for public use. The day this aim is reached, joy at the accomplishment of a mission will be felt; for the bench will bear witness that not in vain did they live.
And that is all; just sincere neighbourly love, some good humour and a useful task you like doing; but on the day when these three rules become part of your inner nature you will see the good side of life and all will be transfigured in your eyes. No more will you know vexation and boredom — no more feel all that they engender in bitterness of spirit.
You will feel the happiness that comes from just being alive and thinking. Even the simple ability to understand the meanings of words can become a voyage of discovery; each word reveals to us a never-ending panorama of meaning and this in itself is one good reason for our feeling proud and happy.
If I were asked to give school children a theme for their composition exercise I might sometimes choose just one word — the first that entered my mind — since each word has the power to inspire us to thought.
But first a word in your ear : reflect on the disasters that could conceivably follow from some thoughless deed by any one of us, and then you will become more indulgent towards the failings that you notice in others.
Dostoyevski has said : “The executioner lurks within every one of our contemporaries” ; and these “contemporaries” belong to all time.
And now that I have reached 70 and passed by a wide margin the normal life-expectancy at birth — which for me was no more than some 40 years — I give thanks to Providence and to all who have loved me and shown kindness.
“Habui partem meam”, I have had my share of life’s gifts; and now I greet each new day as an extra gift. For all of you I have only one wish to utter : that you may attain to a perfect peace of mind and that when you reach my age you may be just as happy as I am now.
But do not forget : more important than doctors for preserving health are good humour and smiling.
Some recipients of this letter may feel surprise at hearing themselves named my friends; but indeed they are my friends — all of them and even without their knowing it; for it detracts no whit from the true value of the friendship of those nearest to me when I assert that all men are my friends, believers and unbelievers, good and bad, the rich — and more especially the poor.
sur po mi lo plu ixas.
Mi ganir ma insolenta sfido.
E dok et anyos me aportir an zi sa part d’adversados, intel plu kruelas.
Kom pir realisi et paradoxa fakto ?
Simple per vera ix sar un kozo nodelibla : ma ix sar in mi, it ma kompan fidela e noseparibla. It ni me kitir, mi it ni trazir.
Es so se ye drilar — e ix sar parte un qestyon de dri\ — so akorgar ke so par si ixa muy ize, uske tan ize ke l’unkas, zenat pe et izeso, no kontarsar ke ziself Fautoros de sa malix, konfuzar ix kon dumeso, e gar us dici ke so no par si ixa sen si dumcla.
Zi forse raga, pes fonde lo formulos d’ix sar nur infanema komunlogos. In et komunlogos dok star vera sago.
Mi v’en enuncor tre, olda as lo mond, mo ki retrovor lo nuveso e lo freskeso de primaver des vu or konsentat v’en penetri e en fi va substanso :