Theme: Intimate Reformation

Virtue is learned

As we saw some weeks ago about the female squirrel Lila and the little monkey Mico who were friends and lived in the same tree.

Lila was all organized and Mico, unlike her, all messy.

Everyone certainly remembers that once Mico was bitten by a bee and was very ill. And he was only able to be saved because he asked Lila for help, which had an allergy remedy within its validity and knew where it was stored. Lila also had the hospital emergency number and knew what to do. That's why she was able to help her friend.

Mico was very frightened by the experience and when he recovered from it he made the decision to change his habits and be more disciplined.

It began his change by buying the allergy medicine and decided to put it in the closet, in a very visible place.

But the closet was full of crumpled and even dirty clothes, so Mico took everything from there and threw them all on the bed. He took some of the dirty clothes to the bathroom to join with others that there were but there were so many that some fell down on the way.

He put the clothes in a bucket with water to wash them. Some were with clay and it dirtied the water and other clothes. As the bucket got very full, dirty water fell out. When Mico went to grab the soap, he marked the floor with dirty tracks.

He decided to take a break and have a snack. In the kitchen, the situation was no better. The dishes were always dirty, on the sink or table. He opened the refrigerator and found nothing to eat. He had forgotten to shop.  That’s why he had gone harvest the berries from the tree the day before and ended up taking the bee sting.

Mico decided to go out and buy food. He bought a lot of fruit and seeds but was tired of carrying everything to his house at the top of the tree.

Besides being tired, he was already hungry. Mico ate the berries and decided to take a nap. But his bed was still full of clothes. Then he lay down on the couch.

When he woke up, the house was still all messed. Mico continued his work. He washed a lot of the dirty dishes, cleaned the dirty tracks around the house and stored some objects in their places. But he did not have time to pack his clothes and he had to throw them on the floor so he could sleep in his bed.

Next day, Mico had to dirty some dishes to eat and to wear clean clothes, which also became dirty. On top of that, it rained hard that day, bringing a lot of leaves into the house. Mico also forgot to pick up the laundry that was hanging. They were all wet and dirty.

Mico, in a few days, realized that he could not get his house in order. There were many things to do. Sometimes he didn’t know what to do first. Soon he became discouraged and gave up being organized.

One day, he met Lila and she brought up the subject:

- How's it going, Mico? Is your house getting the way you wanted?

- No Lila, unfortunately not! - Replied the sad little monkey - I've found that I cannot handle it. I wish I was born with your gift. I really admire your home, your organized way, your punctuality. But I'm not like that, it doesn’t matter, I must get used to it.

Lila wondered at her friend's reply. And wishing his good, she began to explain gently:

- You know, Mico, I've been going to the Spirit Center for some time and I'm learning some very interesting things there. According to the Spirit Doctrine, we are all created on the same way by God. He does not give gifts to some and not to others. The virtues that we possess are our achievements, things that we learned during our evolution. So, I'm not better than you because I can already be organized. I had this learning. Probably because my mother taught me. We were in many siblings and she demanded that we were disciplined, so she couldn’t do everything by herself. That turned out to be good for me. I could organize myself while growing up.

- Yes, Lila, but I am not! And now that I have tried, I cannot. - Mico said.

- Do you know something else I learned from Spiritism, Mico? - Said Lila, seeking to encourage her friend - The virtues that we have already conquered must be used to help others. So, if you want, I can help you. - she smiled.

Mico was full of joy. With Lila at his side, it would be a lot easier.

- Of course I do, Lila! It will be great! Thank you! Replied Mico, happy.

The two arranged everything and at the scheduled time Lila arrived at Mico's house with boxes, trash bags, labels and an agenda.

Lila taught Mico how to make task lists and priorities. She gave several tips on how to do, more efficiently, domestic services. She taught Mico how to plan a schedule. They also arranged a place for each thing together and threw away or separated to donate everything he did not use anymore.

In a short time, Mico's life (and home) was transformed for better. He worked hard and felt fulfilled with the progress he had made.

From time to time he thought:

- Lila and the Spirit Doctrine are right. Virtue is learned and conquered!

Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com