Noli Timere; anche le cose più innocenti vivono di tormenti

ITonalestate, in all its years has hosted and welcomed the tragedies, the
wounds and the deepest anguishes of human beings all over the world.
Tonalestate, in all these years, hasn’t been scared to do it, even if this means to
be disturbed in our tranquillity, shaken in our conscience, and, most of all, if it
means to welcome the unexpected, an unexpected that you cannot control and
that teaches to welcome a thought and an action that do not come from myself.
Tonalestate isn’t born to narcissistically contemplate oneself, but it is born to
be and to promote a meeting culture; and meeting inevitably brings in itself a
risk, if it is a true meeting with something other than myself.

Therefore, the true fear that Tonalestate wants to overcome is the fear of a
meeting. But why does Tonalestate want to fight against this fear and sees in it
the biggest danger to humanity? Because we normally fear that a true meeting
means losing identity, losing people that could potentially fall in love with
other ideals and experiences that are different from our own, or that it means
losing convictions and criteria to which we’re used to; in short, we’re afraid to
lose what we think we own, things and, at times, people.
So, while dominated by this fear, us adult people teach the young diffidence,
suspect, constant critique, cynicism, and accusation; and, in this way, these
same young people don’t choose, don’t risk, don’t love. But it is in the risk of
meeting itself that the criteria and ideals we follow are put to the test and it is
in the risk of meeting that you can see if an ideal was personally made one’s
own, transmitted and received once more.

It is in the risk of meeting that you learn to love, that you learn suffering, that
you find belonging, that unity between mankind is revealed, that you find the
meaning of life, and, most importantly, that you find your call, without which
you cannot live.
Tonalestate cannot, by its own nature, cover its ears and heart, and cannot
teach to do the same, even if it risks losing friends and companions, young and adult alike. Because Tonalestate, as its founder, is an action and not a reaction,
a proposal and not an accuse, a company and not an army, a passion for
mankind and not a recruitment, a freedom and not a possession, in short, it’s
an educating community and wants to be the place where meeting and truth
find their home.

During these days, dear students, professors and teachers, dear friends and
colleagues, we found out of what we should truly be scared: control,
possession, suspect, constant criticism, competition, vengeance, arrogance,
and contempt.
As a matter of fact, true fear is the fear of our own self when we don’t truly
believe in what we say we believe.
During these days, dear students, professors and teachers, dear friends and
colleagues, we learned that we are called to build, to love a common project of
which we’re all responsible and not spectators only.
And what is the project? It isn’t a matter of creating new buildings made of
cement and stone, but of invoking and asking for a new Spirit: “the Spirit of
wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of
the knowledge and love of the Eternal”.
This Spirit that creates action not for fear, but for love to mankind, is the true
logo of the Tonalestate University and it will be the sign of our common
belonging.

This is our common project dear students. In this university you do not only
learn knowledge, concept, subjects and stories; but here, the true educational
and academic project consists in creating men and women that “burn in
charity”, as we listened, that take care of one another, that are of company to
one another, that break, as bread, one for the other.
And so, dear students, “do not be afraid of the night, but continue on the path
with us”. This Tonalestate path that has no borders or fences, and that you’re
all called to build so that it can continue to exist and so that it can continue to
be walked by men and women of every people and culture: by everyone!
And, so: “Caminante, sí, hay camino y ese nuestro camino se hace al andar”.
I wish to each and every one of us this path. Thank you.