Some find Paulo Coelho's writings as boring, confusing and so out of touch. Me, like many more out there, cherish every written words in his books. Somehow, they ring a bell in my ears, pull a string in my heart and then, everything around me makes so much sense!
I would like to share a few extracts from his book called "By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept". Though I have read it before, many years ago, but it seems this time around it was meant to be read by me for a reason, a very special reason.
I now surrender myself to love and be loved.
"All of us had this experience. At some point, we have each said through our tears, "I'm suffering for a love that's not worth it". We suffer because we feel we are giving more than we receive. We suffer because our love is going unrecognised. We suffer because we are unable to impose our own rules.
But ultimately, there is no good reason for our suffering, for in every love lies the seed of our growth. The more we love, the closer we come to spiritual experience. Those who are truly enlightened, those whose souls are illuminated by love, have been able to overcome all of the inhibitions and preconceptions of their era.
They have been joyful - because those who love conquer the world and have no fear of loss. True love is an act of total surrender.
This book is about the importance of that surrender.
One doesn't love in order to do what is good or to help or to protect someone. If we act that way, we are perceiving the other as a simple object, and we are seeing ourselves as wise and generous persons. This has nothing to do with love. To love is to be in communion with the other and to discover in that other the spark of God".
Author's Note, Page 2 - 3
"A man runs into an old friend who had somehow never been able to make it in life. "I should give him some money", he thinks. But instead he learns that his old friend has grown rich and is actually seeking him out to repay the debts he had run up over the years.
They go to a bar they used to frequent together and the friend buys drinks for everyone there, When they ask him how he became so successful, he answers that until only a few days ago, he had been living the role of the 'Other'.
What is the 'Other'?, they ask.
The 'Other' is the one who taught me what I should be like, but not what I am. The 'Other' believes that it is out obligations to spend our entire life thinking about how to get our hands on as much money as possible so that we will not die of hunger when we are old. So we think so much about money and our plans for acquiring it that we discover that we are alive only when our days on earth are practically done. And then it's too late.
"And you? Who are you?"
"I am just like everyone else who listens to their heart: a person who is enchanted by the mystery of life. Who is open to miracles, who experiences joy and enthusiasm for what they do. It's just that the 'Other', afraid of disappointment, kept me from taking actions".
"But there is suffering in life", one of the listeners said.
"And there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggle for your dreams than to be defeated without ever even knowing what you're fighting for".
"That's it?", another listener asked.
"Yes, that's it. When I learned this, I resolved to become the person I had always wanted to be. The 'Other' stood there in the corner of my room, watching me, but I will never let the 'Other' into myself again - even though it has already tried to frighten me, warning me that it's risky not to think about the future".
"From the moment that I ousted the 'Other' from my life, the Divine Energy began to perform its miracles".
Pilar's companion's story, Page 58 - 59
"My heart needs no more suffering.
If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him.
Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering".
Pilar's Prayer, Page 104
"We walked slowly, and it seemed as if we would never stop descending. Maybe this was another rite of passage, marking the end of an era in which there had been no light in my life. As I walked through the tunnel, I was remembering how much time I has wasted in one life, trying to put down roots in soil where nothing could grow any longer.
But God was good and had given me back my lost enthusiasm, directing me towards the adventures I had always dreamed about. And towards the man who - without my knowing it - had waited for me all my life, I felt no remorse over the fact that he was leaving the seminary - there were many ways to serve God, as the Padre has said, and our love only multiplied the number of them. Starting now, I would also have the chance to serve and help - all because of him.
We would go out into the world, bringing comfort to others and each other.
Thank you, Lord, for helping me to serve. Teach me to be worthy of that. Give me the strength to be part of his mission , to walk with him on this earth, and to develop my spiritual life anew. May all our days be as these have been - going from place to place, curing the sick, comforting those in sorrow, speaking of the Great Mother's love for all".
Pilar's Prayer, Page 172 - 173
p.s. Songs for this post would be KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See", Hayley Westenra and Helmut Lotti's "There's a sparkle in your eyes" and Andrea Bocelli and Hayley Westenra's "Vivo Per Lei" (Here's the English translation of this beautiful song)
I would like to share a few extracts from his book called "By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept". Though I have read it before, many years ago, but it seems this time around it was meant to be read by me for a reason, a very special reason.
I now surrender myself to love and be loved.
"All of us had this experience. At some point, we have each said through our tears, "I'm suffering for a love that's not worth it". We suffer because we feel we are giving more than we receive. We suffer because our love is going unrecognised. We suffer because we are unable to impose our own rules.
But ultimately, there is no good reason for our suffering, for in every love lies the seed of our growth. The more we love, the closer we come to spiritual experience. Those who are truly enlightened, those whose souls are illuminated by love, have been able to overcome all of the inhibitions and preconceptions of their era.
They have been joyful - because those who love conquer the world and have no fear of loss. True love is an act of total surrender.
This book is about the importance of that surrender.
One doesn't love in order to do what is good or to help or to protect someone. If we act that way, we are perceiving the other as a simple object, and we are seeing ourselves as wise and generous persons. This has nothing to do with love. To love is to be in communion with the other and to discover in that other the spark of God".
Author's Note, Page 2 - 3
"A man runs into an old friend who had somehow never been able to make it in life. "I should give him some money", he thinks. But instead he learns that his old friend has grown rich and is actually seeking him out to repay the debts he had run up over the years.
They go to a bar they used to frequent together and the friend buys drinks for everyone there, When they ask him how he became so successful, he answers that until only a few days ago, he had been living the role of the 'Other'.
What is the 'Other'?, they ask.
The 'Other' is the one who taught me what I should be like, but not what I am. The 'Other' believes that it is out obligations to spend our entire life thinking about how to get our hands on as much money as possible so that we will not die of hunger when we are old. So we think so much about money and our plans for acquiring it that we discover that we are alive only when our days on earth are practically done. And then it's too late.
"And you? Who are you?"
"I am just like everyone else who listens to their heart: a person who is enchanted by the mystery of life. Who is open to miracles, who experiences joy and enthusiasm for what they do. It's just that the 'Other', afraid of disappointment, kept me from taking actions".
"But there is suffering in life", one of the listeners said.
"And there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggle for your dreams than to be defeated without ever even knowing what you're fighting for".
"That's it?", another listener asked.
"Yes, that's it. When I learned this, I resolved to become the person I had always wanted to be. The 'Other' stood there in the corner of my room, watching me, but I will never let the 'Other' into myself again - even though it has already tried to frighten me, warning me that it's risky not to think about the future".
"From the moment that I ousted the 'Other' from my life, the Divine Energy began to perform its miracles".
Pilar's companion's story, Page 58 - 59
"My heart needs no more suffering.
If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him.
Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering".
Pilar's Prayer, Page 104
"We walked slowly, and it seemed as if we would never stop descending. Maybe this was another rite of passage, marking the end of an era in which there had been no light in my life. As I walked through the tunnel, I was remembering how much time I has wasted in one life, trying to put down roots in soil where nothing could grow any longer.
But God was good and had given me back my lost enthusiasm, directing me towards the adventures I had always dreamed about. And towards the man who - without my knowing it - had waited for me all my life, I felt no remorse over the fact that he was leaving the seminary - there were many ways to serve God, as the Padre has said, and our love only multiplied the number of them. Starting now, I would also have the chance to serve and help - all because of him.
We would go out into the world, bringing comfort to others and each other.
Thank you, Lord, for helping me to serve. Teach me to be worthy of that. Give me the strength to be part of his mission , to walk with him on this earth, and to develop my spiritual life anew. May all our days be as these have been - going from place to place, curing the sick, comforting those in sorrow, speaking of the Great Mother's love for all".
Pilar's Prayer, Page 172 - 173
p.s. Songs for this post would be KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See", Hayley Westenra and Helmut Lotti's "There's a sparkle in your eyes" and Andrea Bocelli and Hayley Westenra's "Vivo Per Lei" (Here's the English translation of this beautiful song)
2 comments:
Reading your post, i am reminded of Goethe's lifelong work, Faust. The last words of that monumental poem about the struggle of man to find his core are:
'the eternal in woman draws us on'
When we think of it, true love is its own self-sufficient reason. It is the only magic we humans have to connect to a higher world while struggling in this harsh one.
Love lightens loads, lifts spirit, imbues harmony and completes us all.
Who better than Coelho to talk about it in his Remaining Open To Love, an essay in his collection Like The Flowing River?
"There are times when we long to be able to help someone whom we love very much, but we can do nothing. Circumstances will not allow us to approach them, or the person is closed off to any gesture of solidarity and support.
Then all we are left with is love. At such times, when we can do nothing else, we can still love - without expecting any reward or change or gratitude.
If we do this, the energy of love will begin to transform the universe about us. Wherever this energy appears, it will always achieve its ends. ...
...A rose dreamed day and night about bees, but no bee ever landed on her petals. The flower, however, continued to dream. During the long nights, she imagined a heaven full of bees, which flew down to bestow fond kisses on her. By doing this, she was able to last until the next day, when she opened again to the light of the sun. One night, the moon, who knew of the rose's loneliness, asked: 'aren't you tired of waiting?' 'Possibly, but i have to keep trying.' 'Why?' 'Because if i don't remain open, i will simply fade away.' At times when loneliness seems to crush all beauty, the only way to resist is to remain open."
http://is.gd/8kUGY
With all the deepest wishes for your happiness, fi-sha.
Dear Sir Walla
I am blessed with your wishes. Thank you for your understanding of this post because The Great Goethe says, "A person only hears what he understands".
The Great Goethe also says that "As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live".
I surrender myself for I believe in what I feel.
Have a lovely weekend Sir!
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