It was the year 1824 when, in Vienna, the chords of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony were performed to the public for the first time. And it was on the 7th of May that this song of hope, of joy for the brotherhood of men, came alive in the fourth movement for choir; a song that, unknowingly, many people whistle to this day when they feel happy.

A symphony composed when Beethoven was completely deaf; an illness that had been with him for some time and had plunged him into deep sadness. An extreme situation, an inflection point in his life.

But this circumstance, which would seem the most adverse possible for a musician, was the kick-off to achieve something great: a melody that, for many, still embodies joy itself.

And here appears a word known to everyone: work. A kind of mechanism that moves, that mobilizes, but that also needs an objective to make a difference. Because, to leave a point, you have to recognize another point you want to reach. If you don’t know it, or how much less you see it, the energy of the work can be dispersed without a direction, going round and round at the mercy of the winds.

However, when it’s possible, like an experienced sailor, to define the direction of the boat, from that moment on, all the winds can be used to reach the destination. Difficulties are recognized as part of the path. One can even taste the storms: the aromas become noble fragrances, and the harshness softens like the foam of the sea when we experience the joy and happiness of reaching an objective.

Each point of arrival increases confidence, strengthens conviction and nurtures the hope of reaching that port of joy that each one carries within.

When each course taken, each goal reached, each moment of fulfillment aligns with the same objective, a new world appears. A world that is already a reality for many, and can be for everyone.

So, joy is associated with work and love, and finds shelter in the heart. And all of humanity can come to sing the symphony of a LIFE with capital letters, a life in which joy does not only have hymns that remind it, it exists within each one of us.