the little monk

from The Brothers Karamazov

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

"This is what I think of you, you will go forth from these walls, but you will live like a monk in the world. You will have many enemies, but even your foes will love you. Life will bring you many misfortunes, but you will find your happiness in them, and will bless life and will make others bless it - which is what matters most. Well, that is your character."

the little monk understands building tables and welcoming people is better than building walls and excluding them

for the little monk, there is no 'there' and there is no 'them'...there is only 'here' and 'us'

the little monk's heart is the size of his fist, and a blue whale's heart is the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. You can walk around inside of a blue whale's heart, and, in a way, you can walk around in the little monk's heart, too

the little monk listens carefully and pays attention