In one house lived a happy little family: two parents, a child and a grandfather. Every night the boy heard stories from his grandfather about his life and his past, and sometimes he thought that his grandfather had an endless reservoir of frightening, amusing, and fascinating stories to tell, and each one had a lesson to teach.
After a long period in which the family lived happily, the years started to take their toll on the grandfather and he began to note every day that soon his day will come, and his life will come to an end. The boy heard him say these words every day and tried to think of how his grandfather could live an eternal life, or at least a few more years. "Grandfather, I think I know how you can live another 60, 70, even 80 years!" He said.
"I have lived a long life and saw many things, and now I have a few more months if God is generous, my time has come," he said.
"But before you go, I have one request for you - can you write all the stories you told me every night before bedtime? I'd love to have something left of you when you go," said the grandson.
The grandson's request moved the grandfather very much, and he immediately took a notebook and wrote all the stories he had told his grandson over the years about his life. Although it was very hard for him to remember every single detail of the stories, he managed to get them on the pages as best he could, and two weeks later he gave the full notebook to his grandson.
The grandson read the stories eagerly, and after he finished reading the last story tears ran down his cheeks. The grandson went to his grandfather with the notebook in his hand, and after the grandfather wiped the tears from the grandson's face, he asked him: "Why are you crying, is this because these are not exactly the same stories I told you in the past?”
The grandson immediately interrupted his grandfather and said, "No grandfather, it's not that, the stories are wonderful and they just moved me and proved what I thought - that you can live forever."
The grandfather smiled and said: "I agree with you that these stories will remain even after I leave this world, but they are not me, only my stories."
The grandson replied: "Perhaps they are only stories for you, but when I read them and let your words seep into my heart, I felt that you were beside me, and even after I finished reading the stories, your soul remained with me in your wise words."
"I do not know if I can give you back the part of your soul that is inside me, and I do not know if I want to, I still don’t understand some of your stories, but I'm sure that I will still remember them, they will continue to live within me with your soul, as long as I live."
The grandfather was full of emotion and thoughts, some happy and some sad, but the grandson was not finished yet...
"Through your stories, Grandpa, you shared with me your experiences and your thoughts, I want you to know that they will never disappear and that you will continue to live through me and that you will always be in my heart," he said.
From the grandson's wise words, we can learn that no matter what our age, we would all like to live a few more years on earth, but eventually each of our lives will come to a close. However, our lives and our influence on others do not stop after our death. If you share your wisdom, your worldview and your experience with others, your soul will live within them, and so will your ideas and point of view. Share your wisdom with your friends, family, and the next generation - it may seem today that there is a lack of interest, but these will be the most meaningful things that will remain with them in their souls, and someday they will appreciate all the stories and wisdom they heard from the people who are no longer with them, but still live within them.
