I am of those that hold that the
reason for life, or existence,
is to do the right thing, be content,
always at peace with your past
and confident in your future.
I am of those that believe that
the best day of our lives is today,
this present moment.
The
rational behavior, at the present,
is to forgive the errors of the
past and prepare us for those
yet to come, because in some way
they guarantee normality of the
brain and the heart, keeping at
a distance useless, worrisome
concerns. This way, each day will
be replete with renewed work challenges
and learning opportunities, new
ways of consolidating friendships,
a hand-tailored and favorable
time to leave our footprints upon
the earth. And it seems that I
am not alone in my way of thinking
and acting. There still exist
many people that determinedly
pursue the joyous search for happiness,
in the affirmation of affective
values, in consolidation of part
of the endless riches of love.
People that, living in the world
of the machine, and receiving
those electronic impulses, still
haven’t lost those precious
qualities that deal with the health
of the body and soul. People who
feel joy at the sight of other’s
happiness, who feel joy when seeing
joy, who sincerely share goodness
with their fellows.
In conversation yesterday at the
Montes Claros Culture Center with
the father Aderbal Murta de Almeida,
my Rotarian and Academy of Literature
comrade, we were reminiscing about
past local events and happenings
pointing out significant facts
that glorified the ideological
patrimony of Montes Claros in
both cognitive and emotional aspects.
He cited innumerous significant
examples of the grandeur of goodness
and faith, the love of spontaneous
dedication to goodness, the halo
of divine light that flows with
the evolutional ladder of grand
personalities, souls that radically
demonstrate the humanity of our
culture. In resuming, he proposed
two names that he personally considered
as the most important in the hallowed
gallery of greatness, in loving
and in forgiveness, in knowledge
of being and living. He gave the
first name, emphasizing the work
of father Marcos, and when I was
about to interrupt him to point
out the second name, he said the
name that was on the tip of my
tongue, reminding me clearly and
happily of Nathércio França,
our great and loved Nathércio.
I looked at Nivaldo Maciel, who
was there with us and saw that
he, by his gestures of consent,
that if we had been a little slower,
he would have pronounced the same
name before we had done. In fact,
considering the capacity of good
living, of existence with true
knowledge and majesty, of the
friend and of the brotherhood,
of the practice of fellowship
and fraternity, Nathércio
França, is the most illustrious
personage in the history of Montes
Claros. No one, truthfully no
one could have failed to admire
him, feeling the height of his
love, to share his charisma, always
visible and with the value with
which he treated every moment
of his existence. Nathércio
had the unbreakable faith that
only great souls bear. If we had
had time enough to bask in the
radiance of his knowledge, his
passing so recent to us in time
and space, I believe that our
consideration would be even greater.
Nathércio
França, illustrious personality
in several of the most varied
activities of the city; businessman,
pilot, religious leader, active
Rotarian…he was no doubt,
an unforgettable moment in the
lives of all who knew him.
