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| Daiane Decothé |
My great grandfather left
Italy with his wife and children. They arrived in Brazil with nothing but the
clothes on their back. He started cleaning people’s houses for a living and worked
in plantations.
From servant to businessman
I never got to know him, but
I believe he was a strong-willed man. He worked hard and managed to build a legacy.
He went from being a mere servant to becoming a very prominent businessman in
São Paulo, Brazil.
You would imagine that with
such success, his family’s quality of life would improve drastically, right?
But, my grandfather told us that they continued living poorly.
A well kept secret
My great grandfather was so
afraid of losing everything, that he saved everything he earned, without ever spending
much. No-one understood what my he did with all his fortune. It was a well kept
secret.
In the late 50s, my great grandfather
passed away and his children inherited everything. Many years went by and unfortunately
they lost the businesses and had to sell the house, still wondering where my
great grandfather’s fortune had ended up, since he didn’t even have a bank
account.
The mystery unravelled
Well, as they were about to
hand over the house to its new owner, the mystery was finally unravelled. They
found a safe full of money hidden behind a portrait on the wall. They had
finally found the missing fortune!
But, there was just one
problem! So much time had passed by, Brazil had gone through a currency change
and all that fortune had now become worthless.
What my great grandfather had
feared the most happened. Everything was lost. All the fortune he left behind only
served as a remembrance of nights of hard labour and a life sacrificed in vain.
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| Young Daiane with friends. |
What did I learn with his story?
Don’t live your life based on
fear and don’t depend on material riches, because everything that is material
has a validation date. It will expire one day.
By Daiane Decothé
This is a very inspiring story. I think Mrs Daiane's great grandfather feared so much, that at the end of the day he couldn't enjoy what he had worked so hard for. He didn't live at all, and we can't live our lives like this—always in fear and worried about tomorrow. God said He would take care of it. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is so true, what we most fear always happens because we are a subject to that fear. Everything that the person will do will be on the base of that fear and things will always go wrong.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteOne thing this blog has taught me is that no matter how much you think holding back because of fear is a blessing, it's actually more profitable to share. For myself, I found it difficult to share and how many times did it just backfire on me? So sharing is really important. As I type, my conscience is reminding me to put it more into practice!
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ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHe gave in to the worries and anxieties he had concerning the future, and it stopped him from enjoying the NOW.
What a waste when this is done!
Can't wait for the next story.