not just to live, but to share life;
not just to give, but to give one's self;
not just to thank, but to appreciate;
not just to smile, but to radiate smiles;
not just to love, but to live love;
not just to question, but to try to understand;
not just to accept, but to embody;
not just to stretch out one's hand, nor to open the door,
but to give one's hand, to invite in.

not so much to make a friend, as to be a friend;
not so much to be present, as not to make one's self absent;
not so much to console, as to empathize;
not so much to win, as to go on fighting
 (that's where the greatest victories are hidden).

not to possess, but to set free;
not to divide, to distribute, but to share;
not to compete, but to accompany;
not to criticize, but to give orientation;
not to be visible, but to be available;
not to arrive, but to continue on;
not to give solutions, but options;
not to long for the past, but to be able to rejoice in what has been
 (transforming it into an eternal present,
  where time and space melt into and sublimate one another).

   all in all,
 not how much,   but how deep.

      is
to learn to see beyond what our eyes see,
to learn to hear beyond what our ears hear,
to learn to touch beyond what our hands reach,
to learn to say beyond what our lips articulate,
to learn to love beyond what the heart imagines possible.

©1977, Mie