Today, I found myself in front of an elementary school during the afternoon dismissal. When the doors opened, I saw entire classes of children exiting with bowed heads, sad, angry, with tears in their eyes. I asked for explanations, and I was told it was an early commemoration of the ‘Day of Remembrance.’ The proud…

In these days, snow has settled on the roofs of Northern Europe. First in Bremen and then in Amsterdam, every heart I encountered responded with what it carried within. Some rediscovered anger due to a missed appointment, others felt melancholy over a past memory, frustrated individuals in traffic, and children happily playing in the streets.…

When you wish to help someone and receive an aggressive response or a total rejection, it is a truly important moment. Because when it happens, it’s as if that person is telling you that it’s okay, that their path needs to pass through a certain way, and you certainly won’t be the one to divert…

At the gates of winter, for thousands of years, we gathered around the fire. Close to each other, we spent time telling stories of our heroes and how they always found their way home in the end. Each of us carrying in our hearts the hope of embracing others when the snow melted, not getting…

At an event a few weeks ago, I met a wonderful artist. In a few moments, he had enchanted the people admiring him. He sculpted clay completely immersed in a hypnotic dance, and together with his audience, they were radiant. People passed by without noticing them, without stopping, but they were creating a true miracle.…

You have every right to lie; they have done it to you thousands of times, for entire lives, in many different ways. Now you can indulge in an incarnation busy with matters that don’t concern you, pretending every day, with a mask on your face. And you would be right: they had talked to you…

On the train that took me to Rome a few days ago, during this intense period of classes and conferences in Italy, I found myself in the company of three passionist nuns. I, engrossed in rereading the beautiful Bhagavad Gita, and they in prayer with the rosary. A few sweet glances are enough to start…

A friend, a monk from Eastern Europe, told me these days about how his monastery is dealing with increased bills. Every evening, the lights are turned off, and candles are lit in gathering and prayer places. His brothers are not enthusiastic; there are many complaints about the global situation, government decisions, and the lack of…

This is the time of separation, the historical moment that pushes towards a selection among individuals, generations, and ways of being in the world. Anyone on Earth now is surrounded by waves that either engulf them or that they can choose to ride. In this ocean, everyone will meet and clash, moved by currents until…

Each one of us carries a seed within, without which the world would be less rich, and with which this garden can become a lush paradise. Thomas Sankara found his seed at the age of 35 when he became the president of the Republic of Upper Volta, which he renamed Burkina Faso: the land of…