A man entered a cemetery to greet a loved one who was buried there. Suddenly he disappeared along a path and inadvertently entered a pavilion where he noticed some tombstones with inscriptions out of the ordinary. One of them said: "Here lies Alphonse Duval, who lived months, four days and nine hours." In another he found this legend: "Jamie Bruckwell, who lived seven years, two months and twenty hours". A few steps beyond, another plaque said: In honor of Marthina Bhernalosky, who lived twelve years, seventy-two days and fifteen hours.
The number of inscriptions of this kind made him suppose that he was in a cemetery of children. At that moment he saw one of the men in charge of the place come and asked:
"Why do you write down the time these children lived?" Why so many dead children? Is there a curse in this town?
The caretaker replied:
-In this town we have the habit of giving a notebook to every young person who reaches adolescence. In one of his pages he should note the most celebrated moments of his life; In the other, the time that lasted that enjoyment. Since then, the boy records the moments in which he enjoys immensely, and the time that lasted that joy. Almost everyone describes the emotions that brought them their first kiss, the minutes that lasted and the passion they felt. They record a kind voice, a received advice, and the time that the feelings associated with them lasted. The day of marriage, the birth of the first child, the most desired journey, the sudden encounter with a loved one, are all events that are recorded in that notebook, for what they represent in our lives. This is the true time lived, because we exist to be happy, to enjoy nature, to help and to be in peace. The rest is not life.