Perhaps it is typical of us just to exist. Over the course of decades, in winter and summer, during rainstorms or the fierce rays of the sun, we have not tried to distinguish ourselves and to become noticed at any cost. Our focus is on being in the right place. We are secure, stable and unchanging.

Perhaps last summer you visited a distant land and could see a beautiful waterfall. While looking at it, you leaned against a wooden railing. Next you visited an exotic city, where you comfortably settled down on a bench at the edge of a busy street. Among the ruins of an ancient civilisation, you made your way down a pathway of grey boards. Did you perhaps notice something that seemed familiar?

Did you perhaps notice a little bit of Latvia in those distant lands?

We have worked very hard in our little country, and we have become large in the world. We are subtle, our colour is the same as that of our surroundings. We are by no means irreplaceable, but we have constructed things which have the stability that supports the everyday lives of people all over the world. Our timber is everywhere, we just need to learn how to notice it.

If Pinocchio were to return to the world today, it is quite possible that he would speak Latvian. If we watch the world more carefully, we will clearly see ourselves there. We have every reason to be proud of this fact.