One old Chinese sage was walking across the snowy field when he noticed a woman crying.
– Why are you crying? – he asked.
– Because I remember the past, my youth, the beauty I saw in the mirror, the people I loved.
God was cruel to me because He gave me memory. He knew I would remember the spring of my life and cry.
The sage stood observing the snowy field, staring fixedly at one point. At some point, the woman stopped crying.
– What do you see there? – he asked.
– A field of roses. – the sage said. – God was generous to me because He gave me memory. He knew that in winter I would always be able to remember spring and laugh.
From the book Maktub, Paulo Coelho
Selected by: Suzana Mateša