THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC

A few days ago, I was strolling along the streets in the center of Chiclayo when I came across a long parade made up of former students of “Collegio Nacional De San Josè”, which is a school only for boys. It was established one hundred and fifty-six years ago in Chiclayo.

The school band headed the procession.

Without music the parade would have been lifeless, but the sound of the band enlivened it and drew people from every corner of the city.

What would be life without music? It surely would be gloomy. Music exists from time immemorial. According to many, life itself originates from music, or a sound, or a word.

A long time ago, I saw a movie called Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The director was Steven Spielberg. The story was this: some people had wormed their way into a secret military base where a close encounter with aliens was going to happen. After a few attempts, the aliens got in touch with the earthmen just by playing musical notes, as their language was based on music. Was it mere science fiction? We don’t know, but it is certain that music is the only non-verbal language in the universe which everybody can understand, both earthmen and extraterrestrials.

Ettore Grillo author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
-Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

THE HAPPY MAN HAD NO SHIRT

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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THE HAPPY MAN HAD NO SHIRT

Seeing the happiness of these Peruvian children who belong to poor families, I recalled a story that a long time ago I read when I attended middle school.

Once upon a time, a king ordered his servants to bring him the shirt of a man who was really happy.

Hence, the servants went all around the kingdom, but they couldn’t find a happy man; everybody had some kind of misfortune. When their hope to find a happy man was about to die, unexpectedly they found a man singing in the open air.

“This man must be really happy! Let’s go to talk with him for a while!” they said.

After questioning him, they found that he was really a happy man. “Give us your shirt! We will take it to the king and he will give you a special award for that!” they said.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have any shirt,” the happy man answered, “I am so poor that I don’t own anything.”

The servants went back to the king and reported that they did find a happy man indeed, but he had no shirt.

The moral of the story is intuitive: happiness springs not from riches but from the spontaneity of the heart.

Ettore Grillo author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
-Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

A BOOK PICKED UP AT RANDOM FROM THE STALL

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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A BOOK PICKED UP AT RANDOM FROM THE STALL

Every now and then I purchase a book at random. By doing so, I broad my horizons and I am not confined to reading books that are within my sphere of interests.

A year ago, while I was walking on the high street of Southport, a city in the north of England, I entered a used bookstore. Using a special ladder provided by the owner, I picked two books from the upper shelf: one by Samuel Richardson and one by Henry Fielding; then before going out I closed my eyes and picked up at random a book among those lying on the table at the entrance. It was The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan.

“I’ll give it to you for free! It is the most boring book in the world!” said the bookseller.

I kept that book for several months on my bookshelf and now, while I am in Peru, I want to have a look at it.

To my surprise, the book is not boring at all; it is one of the most interesting books I have read so far; it is an allegory of life and a window to look into the amazing world of the Puritans.

What is the moral of the story? We must have a mind of our own, without being influenced by different opinions.

Ettore Grillo author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
-Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

VEGETARIANS

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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VEGETARIANS

During my first week in Peru, I happened to attend a meeting about vegetarian cooking. It was held at a vegan restaurant, not far from downtown Chiclayo.

The lecturer was a nutritionist who spoke only Spanish. Among other things, she emphasized the importance of two nutrients: spirulina and salvia Hispanica commonly known as chia.

Hung at the entrance of the restaurant was a board on which famous people were portrayed.

Richard Gere, Leonardo Di Caprio, Brad Pitt and all the others on the board are vegetarian, even Albert Einstein was a vegetarian.

As for me, I am not totally vegetarian, but I have reduced meat intake by ninety percent. My aim is to eliminate meat from my diet completely.

A meat-free diet is beneficial to health and shows love and respect for all living creatures.

Ettore Grillo author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
-Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo