Once upon a time there was a chinese prince who proud himself for his rare and ancient pottery collection. It was composed of twelve plates of immense artistic and decorative beauty.

        A certain day, the servant who was responsible for cleaning the collection accidentally dropped one of the plates, which crashed onto the floor and broke into pieces.

        The prince got furious when heard about it. He yelled, cursed and sentenced the servant to death without any mercy.

        The news spread throughout the empire like gunpowder sparkles and most assorted comments were heard. Naturally, the prince’s lack of pity was the main subject.

        After all, despite all the value of the master piece, it was just a plate and the servant was a human being, an old and loyal servant. How could he compare one to the other?

        Nevertheless, a few days before the execution, an old wise man came to the palace and told the prince he would restore the order to the collection.

        Visibly touched, the prince requested all the empire to gather and anxiously waited for the old man to fulfill his promise.

        Dressed in simple clothes and presenting simple acts, the wise man presented himself to the court and asked for the collection, including the broken plate pieces.

        He spread a very white linen towel on the table and set the eleven plates, as well as the twelfth plate pieces.

        After that, with a sudden move and for the entire court astonishment, he pulled the towel throwing all the pottery against the marble floor. Needless to say, all the plates broke down into pieces.

        As the court members seemed all terrified and the prince was about to explode in fury, the wise man calmly spoke: As I have promised, here they are. They are all equal now. If you wish, you may now sentence me to death.

        As this pottery is more valuable to you than the lives of your servants, I decided to sacrifice my own life in benefit of those.

        After all I have lived long enough and am too old. I now sacrifice myself in benefit of those who would die in the future every time one of your master pieces brakes.

        My wish is giving my life to save twelve lives, once according to your concepts, they worth less than your pottery plates.

        After such shocking attitude the prince understood the message and ordered the condemned servant was freed and let the wise man leave as well, forgiving them both.

        Nothing is more precious than life, especially the human one.

        When one gets mature, he/she starts to understand that although the material belongings shall be preserved for the proper usage, the spiritual belongings are indeed the ones to be valued.

        Among such values, the opportunity of living in the flesh is one of the most precious ones, for the Spirit evolves through it, experiencing turnarounds, proofs, and conquests.

* * *

        The Spirit was born to triumph. The difficulties it faces while incarnated are all part of his program to reach the goal it inevitably walks towards: perfection.

        That is why every step left behind becomes an asset for the Spirit’s enrichment.

        Everyday in the flesh is a life lesson to be fully enjoyed by each one of us.

Spiritist Moment Team based on chapter Lições de vida, from the
book Vida: desafios e soluções, by the Spirit of Joanna de Ângelis,
psycographed by Divaldo Pereira Franco, ed. Leal.
February, 25 2008.