THE LETTER BY THE LAKE
I quit my job and set off on a journey without a destination, searching for myself. Over the years, I had made many sacrifices — for work, for family, for the community… I felt grateful, yet tired and unsatisfied. Without fully understanding why, I began to lose enthusiasm, and this affected my habits and my work. I longed for a fulfilling, healthy, satisfying lifestyle… I wanted to feel strong and work toward goals I could control, goals that would reward me with health, peace, and growth. That was it: I needed to devote more time to my passions, to caring for and improving myself.
The next day, I took my jeep and, without realizing I had driven nearly 100 kilometers lost in thoughts and visions, I arrived at a lake. That fresh morning, at six o’clock, I had the chance to admire the sunrise, listen to birds chirping, and enjoy the breeze gently caressing my hair… I focused inward, trying to understand my mood: sad, deeply sad. I felt as if I had completely lost myself, as if I had to start over from scratch, as if until that moment I had never truly lived.
I began reflecting on losses, failures, sacrifices — and soon found myself drowning in negative thoughts, until I fell asleep by the lake’s edge.
It was not a great awakening — bugs crawling over my body, the wind picking up sharply, my long blond hair dirty from the gravel beneath me… I stood a moment facing the river, contemplating what to do next, when I noticed a box resting on a tree near the water.
I decided to open it since the beach was deserted, and inside I found a sheet of paper, well preserved.
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“Richard left me. I’m 32 years old, and we’d been together since elementary school. Sadly, five years ago, he was diagnosed with a tumor, and despite all efforts to beat it, he died two years later. From that moment, I began to neglect myself: my diet, exercise, the warning signs my body was weakening, my mental state, my job, my daughter, my father… I couldn’t focus for more than five minutes without memories of Richard flooding my mind — happy or sad moments from the past. One day I woke up and noticed my vision was a little blurred. At first, like everything else, I ignored it, but soon I couldn’t stay calm. I went for medical check-ups and found out the cause: type 2 diabetes. It was like waking from a coma — I finally realized I hadn’t been taking care of myself as I should have, that if I had only worried sooner, I could have prevented all this… Then I immediately thought of my daughter. It was strange: usually when you receive such news, your mind freezes in fear, imagining the end of life — but for me, it was different: I thought of life. Richard taught me to be strong. I remembered the phrase he often said and repeated to me: ‘Life isn’t kind enough to pity humans, but it admires and rewards those who face it with strength and courage.’ I would never accept abandoning my daughter without having done everything possible to avoid it, so I took control of my life and hit the accelerator: I found a new job that paid for all my treatments, started a diet to improve my physical health, began exercising, volunteered at an animal shelter, and reset my emotions about every area of my life. I changed radically within about a year, dramatically improving my illness, and after only two years, I managed to put my diabetes into remission!
Since then, I continue to follow a vegan diet, exercise, and dedicate myself to hobbies and family! There is nothing better than knowing how to give yourself peace, without any particular reason — just personal satisfaction and setting a good example for the people you love! Don’t let external things negatively influence you, and remember: life rewards those who face it with strength and courage!”
— Virginia
Dedicated to all those who suffer and want to make life worth living!”
I was stunned by this woman’s strength.
“You can’t give up now,” I thought. I got in my jeep and drove straight home — I had a lot of work waiting for me!
