"The story of the Pencil"
by Pauolo Coelho

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point, he asked:
'Are you writing a story about what we've done? Is it a story about me?'

His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:
'I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the
pencil I'm using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.'

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn't seem very special.

'But it's just like any other pencil I've ever seen!'
'That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you
manage to hang on to them, will make you a person who is always at peace
with the world.'

'First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that
there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always
guides us according to His will.'

'Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener.
That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he's much sharper. So
you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will
make you a better person.'

'Third quality: The pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any
mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a
bad thing; it helps us on the road to justice.'

'Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior,
but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening
inside you.'

'Finally, the pencil's fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. In just the same
way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so
try to be conscious of that in every action.'

11:47 pm <3