I Love You More Than Salt
When I was a young child, my brothers and I used to watch a program called Cachirulo. I remember it was one of my mom’s top TV choices for us to watch on the weekends. The purpose of this show was to both entertain and teach moral lessons through fairy tales and classic stories. It encouraged values such as kindness, honesty, respect, and humility—always with a lighthearted and magical touch.
I don’t remember an episode I didn’t like, but one of the many we watched has stayed in my memory to this day.
In that particular episode, a king asked his children how much they loved him.
The older ones said things like:
• “I love you more than gold.”
• “I love you more than diamonds.”
But the youngest replied, “Father, I love you more than salt.”
The king felt insulted, thinking—how could salt compare to gold or jewels? So he scolded the youngest child for saying she loved him more than salt. Later, when he sat down to eat, his food had no salt, and he realized that even the finest feast becomes tasteless and joyless without it.
He understood then his daughter’s wisdom: salt, though humble, gives meaning and flavor to everything—just like true love.
In the story, salt represents something essential—what gives flavor or meaning to life—not the literal seasoning.
This story made me think of my mom’s new reality, as she now has to live without salt for her heart’s health. The lesson takes on a new and richer meaning: love, not salt, gives life its flavor.
She may have to give up salt on her plate, but her life is already seasoned with love—from God, from her family and friends, and from her own spirit of faith and perseverance. True joy doesn’t come from what we taste, but from what we share.
Every meal she eats, every small adjustment she makes, is an act of love—love for life, love for her health, and love for those who care for her.
This evening, I made delicious (if I say so myself 😅) homemade tacos, fresh salsa, and garnished them with avocado. All of it was well seasoned, just without any salt at all—my mom has been given strict instructions about salt and fluid consumption. All her food is homemade, with no salt added.
Instead of tortillas, I served my mom’s tacos on lettuce wraps. I was walking downstairs to the basement to bring her a cup of chamomile and lavender tea before bed when I overheard a phone conversation she was having with one of my aunts. She was telling her how much she loved dinner, even though nothing had salt. And then she added, “It’s okay—it was still delicious, and I’m offering it up for all the people in the world who have nothing to eat, with salt or unsalted.”
That’s my mother—inspiring every moment of the day, despite what she’s going through.
May the story of the King who loved his daughter more than salt serve as a reminder that life is full of flavor when we live with love, faith, and courage. Salt might make food meaningful—but we know that love makes life meaningful.
