The Spectrum

Issue date: 4/28/05 Section: Perspectives

What I have found the most fascinating in the United States is not the buildings of Manhattan or its wealth. It is not the diversity of the food or the fineness of the girls. It is a book that once you read it, will give you enough courage to build many buildings and earn much money. It is a book written with heart and courage; a book you can eat, drink, and smell. It is a book that speaks to you, listens to you, and touches the deepest part of your soul. This book is a mixture of fear and courage, the union of man and nature, of sea and the sky, the struggle of belief and despair. The book is "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway. This is the story of a fisherman who one day decided to go far away in the sea for an adventure. One sentence summarizes the book: "A man can be destroyed, but not defeated." Why do I love this book so much? Every single word in it is a grain of a pearl that keeps the whole entity connected, fluent, and harmonic. There is a motion among the lines that takes you from the beginning to the end with an envy of non-stop-reading. It makes you feel like you are on a boat in the sea with your body floating on the waves. This book teaches you how to fight in defeat and in death. It teaches you to keep fighting for your honor when you lost your strength, your moral; and to fight again and again even if the battle is useless. This book came from the sea to announce the gospel of courage and simplicity; how to live with what you have, how to overcome your fear, how to love an enemy, how to prevent the fall. Once you have read this book, you will stay away from mediocrity, popularity, and avarice. Also, you will become more solitaire, solemn, and quiet like the lake in a moonlit night. You will seek for happiness, simplicity, and equilibrium. This book is inside of me, has become my drink, my meal, and my rest. It has become so familiar, like a part of me. In my dream, I see the lines, the words, as if an angel is paying attention to me. This book has changed my life by giving me strength, patience, and wisdom. This book has a soul, and it is more alive than the banks of Wall Street and the great falls of Niagara. This book makes me feel like a bird in the sky, that needs no passport, no visa, no ticket. I see an Old Man, who could be a grandfather, an uncle, a dear friend or teacher, who sacrifices himself to overcome all the fear of the world. I hear his voice stronger than a lion's roar. I follow his steps certain like a baobab in the storm. I know Hemingway's old man who lived many years before I was born. I know him so well that I called him my father, and I really mean it. I love the man by loving his book, and he comes in my dream with so many ideas that suddenly I realize why somebody put us in this world of fear, war, and extreme danger. The reason is that we are here to fight, to risk, to lose, and to win. We are here to share, to love, to forgive, and to surprise. We are here to give birth, healthy birth. We are here to create, to use our imagination. We are here to sleep. There are other books that I do love, but this book is the only one that feeds my soul, by spreading the odor of eternity and the calm of simplicity. This book keeps my body in balance, and commands my nerves. It keeps me away from the degradation of the spirit, and saves me every time I read it. What I shared in this book is as sweet as the setting sun spreading its rays between the branches of a fir. This is a feeling of innocence, courage, and a strong sensation of love. This is the feeling of time between falling in love and love. This book is my life. It is my earth, my sky, and my eternity. It is my Sea.

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