Several weeks ago, I attended a fair in Bogotá called “Vassar,” where products and services from more than 350 entrepreneurs were showcased. As I walked through the different stands, one called Belupapel caught my eye. They sold planners, stationery, and other items with profound titles and messages. As they state on their website, they have created and designed various tools that help you focus on what truly matters in life.

So, I observed and then reviewed a planner to plan and organize my days. It was titled “Amor Fati.” After a few days, I began to learn a little more about the meaning of this word and discovered that “Amor Fati” is a word of Latin origin and means to love the journey or the destination. In other words, to accept everything life has in store for you, but always with a positive attitude.

Using Wikipedia, I also learned that this term was popularized by the German vitalist philosopher and poet Friedrich Nietzsche. However, I believe it’s an idea that could be connected to some tenets of Stoic philosophy, founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the third century BC, whose great exponents include Seneca, Epictetus, and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

As Carla, a good friend I met at a seminar at PAD U. Piura, says, for believers, there are no coincidences, only “God-incidences.” This planner was a perfect fit for me to give to Fatima, my second daughter. This is because she recently shared a few days of her vacation with us in Bogotá, after finishing the first semester of 2025 at the university she’s enrolled in Argentina.

It’s been a little over 100 days since Fatima started living away from her nuclear family, and I was very pleasantly surprised when, in the conversations we had, she told us:

1. A super attitude to face the simple and complex challenges that come with college in a country other than your own and without help from your family.
2. With discipline and dedication, he has put into practice various habits, such as doing a job well and giving his best effort in everything he undertakes, and this has yielded results, as he has an average above 8 out of 10.
3. And no less important, a serenity and inner peace, which I would have liked to have had at her age (19 years old) with her classic words “hello father”, “don’t worry father”, “everything is fine, father”, always with an open heart and willing to help, (being here in Bogotá, she was informed that she had been appointed confirmation coordinator at the parish she attends in Buenos Aires).

Now you might be thinking, as we say in Peru: “She’s setting off fireworks and sparklers!” because she’s your daughter. Surely she has a lot of room for improvement and will do so over time, but this is just a personal reflection I’d like to invite you to share with other parents whose children, for school and/or work reasons, are not currently living with you, whether they are in a different city within Peru or even outside the country. Please don’t worry so much, because what children have learned at home is not forgotten and will sooner rather than later be put into practice.

Regarding Stoicism, I share some phrases with you.

• Don’t be agitated on your path; life is an exercise in endurance. Marcus Aurelius.
• We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. Seneca
• Nowhere can man find such an imperturbable and tranquil retreat as in the intimacy of his soul. Marcus Aurelius.

What do you say? You’re joining the group of people who incorporate the word AMOR FATI into their daily lives, which is nothing more than facing life with a positive attitude. Come on! This is one more way to contribute your grain of sand to transform our society and country for the better. So, keep going! Let’s keep rowing against the current!