A long time ago, there was a rumor that the devil is going out of business and he is selling his tools to whomever bids the most for them. One night he opened doors to his customers and showcased all his tools: hate, jealousy, fear, deceit, and many more. But somewhere in a dark corner of the room was a very old, harmless and worn-out object, looking as if it has been used throughout eternity. It had the highest price of all.
Somebody asked the devil what that instrument was and why was it so expensive.
"Discouragement," answered the devil. "It it the most expensive tool, because it is the one I use most on people. When nothing else works, I can enter slowly in their minds and hearts and nobody notices. Once I am there and get them discouraged, I can do whatever I want with them. This tool is so worn out because I've been using it since the dawn of humanity and it works with everybody."
"Very few people know this tool belongs to me. When they get discouraged and lose hope, they think it's them to blame, other people or the world around them," laughed the devil. "People hit obstacles in life, they encounter problems, but when they get discouraged, when they lose hope, that's just me doing my job."
The world is going through a lot of pain. But in dark times, we also see that people stand together as bright torches shining through the blackest night. When people in great suffering cannot keep their faith and kneel to the ground in discouragement, let us who still can share our faith and our courage with them.
The devil is not real, but our minds can create nightmares in which we believe.
Our nightmares have created conflicts between people and between nations since not even history can even remember. Our nightmares seem so real because our minds have great creative power.
But nightmares are not real. Only our thoughts can bring us fear, and only love is real. And love is what we will give, as in giving it grows.
Your friend,
Dr. Dragos