"These hours are decisive " - such was the message my parents received at my birth, such was the message my mother received when my father was dying, such was the message I heard when my mother was in a coma.
These are the words that hundreds of people are receiving, at this very moment, not knowing what awaits them the next shift of the hands on the clock. What awaits them at their next meal, what their night will be like, whether the morning will come for them.
Each of us has a vision of death, has an idea of it, has a feeling about it. Each of us has lost or will lose a loved one.
I ask you. What will happen to the emotions we are left with afterwards? What will we do with the sense of despair and sadness that will accompany us? How will we use our difficult experience, for others?
I have felt the proximity of death since I was a child. It is what caused me to be here. It is the driving force behind the desire to do everything I am capable of, in the moment of life.
We don't see death here. But Being where we are does not absolve us of responsibility for those who are not with us.
You have become the representatives of millions of people around the world who are affected by trepidation, who are affected by a sense of vulnerability.
You have become the voices of those who do not know if they will survive the next hours. You have become the strength, for those who can only find their solace in prayers.
Being with families who have nothing but what this moment is for them, I know that what they need are people who will make decisions for them guided by empathetic intuition, guided by gratitude, guided by understanding.
When did you have the space to make decisions based on the deep values of goodness, love and empathy?
When have you had the space to stop for a moment and think: is what I am doing what I still believe in?
When have you had the space to oppose a structure that is not working and build your part?
I stand here before you in hope. With gratitude. With a request. With a pure heart.
That you give a chance to the decisive hours to be those that will herald life, for those who are losing faith that they will regain it.
That you give a chance to yourself, to manage in a conscious way, in a sincere way, one that builds.
That you give a chance to voices that are courageous, that ask for love.
Making difficult decisions on a daily basis can desensitize those who are affected by them. Please do not get carried away by this. Don't forget what is important in working for humanity. Do not be desensitized to the value that is life.
With gratitude and bows to those who make difficult decisions and put themselves at risk on a daily basis - serving humanity.
Thank you.