Step 34: “Do not judge someone by what you see on the outside because they could be broken on the inside”

Step 34: “Do not judge someone by what you see on the outside because they could be broken on the inside”

The 88 rungs of happy people

In this chapter 34 of “The 88 steps of happy people” I teach you not to judge by what you see on the outside because each person may be fighting a battle that does not show

The girl in the image on the left is “Maritriste.” She is forty years old, is a lawyer, a partner in a high-class law firm, enjoys enormous recognition and earn a lot of money. Every day he regrets not having launched into his great dream of giving piano concerts all over the world. He hates his life. The girl in the image on the right is “Marihappy.” She is also forty years old, she is not a lawyer, she does not have enormous personal wealth, but she has no regrets. Love your life. By the way, he is a professional pianist. He gives concerts all over the world.

Actually, Maritriste and Marihappy are the same person. They are both Maria. How is it possible? Because Maritriste does not exist. This is the reason.

They had a deep admiration for each other, and yet they were both unaware of this fact. María felt hated by Silvia from the first month she enrolled in music school. Silvia took a little longer, but her conclusion was no different: «María doesn’t like me. I think he hates me. María admired Silvia’s gifts as a violinist and Silvia was intimidated by María’s great talent at the piano. Both competed inside and outside the school, and each considered that she could never be as good in her field as the other was in hers.

The third year of the conservatory was passing. María was facing an important recital, the performance of which was to be evaluated by a jury. The stakes were high. His scholarship and his future depended on that evaluation. Maria had had a bad feeling about that recital all week. He did not feel confident. Came the day. He sat down at the piano, started nervously and hesitantly. After several passages without major errors, the worst happened. His mind went blank and his hands did not respond. A restrained murmur was heard from the audience, a sign of surprise and a sign of the seriousness of what had just happened. Maria had the sensation that her body was on fire when she felt how each of the gazes that fell on her was transformed into fire. He just wanted to disappear. And disappeared. He left the audience standing in the middle of his concert to run to his room to cry the tears of his supposed failure until dawn.

That day marked the beginning of his decline. After a month thinking about it, one cold winter Monday he made his decision. Along the way he made the most dreaded call: “Mom, Dad, I’m going to drop out of school and I’ll never play the piano again. I am meeting with the director shortly to inform her of my decision. There is no way back”. But a few minutes before the most important meeting of his life, something unexpected happened. On the way to the fifth floor, someone casually got on the second floor in the elevator that only she occupied. It was Silvia. They both tried to hide their shock.

Silvia thought of just saying good morning in the right way and getting on with the rest of her day, just like any other time they had passed each other on campus. But he made a different decision, and this decision was going to change Maria’s future diametrically.

“Were you the one who was playing the piano last Friday at ten o’clock in the main hall?” He asked. Maria, with her self-esteem at the lowest levels perhaps in her entire life, began to shake. His head only thought of all the mistakes he could have made that day and which of them would be causing Silvia’s unexpected comment. In a broken voice an eternal … answered: «Yes. It was me”. I knew it must be you. I just wanted you to know that I consider that no one has your ability to do that the notes of a piano come to life. Congratulations, ”Silvia said.

Silvia got off on the fourth floor, unaware of the transforming effect that in a matter of just a few seconds she had caused a simple tongue and simple vocal cords. Not even the largest earthquake could have had a more extraordinary impact on Maria than that simple phrase.

The meeting with the director never took place. After hearing those words, Maria burst into tears dropping down as she glided through the elevator mirror. He grabbed his knees and held on for several long minutes until a man in a suit stepped inside the elevator. Seeing him enter, without looking at his face, she stood up with determination and went straight to the rehearsal room. That day he played the piano until nightfall. The very day that was to mark Maritriste’s birth ended up becoming the first day of Marihappy’s life.

# 88StepsPeopleHappy

@Angel