I stroll through the big city like I have strolled through so many other big cities in this world, and I see the same scenes: a man walking and talking on his cell phone, a boy running to catch the bus, a mother pushing a pram, a young couple kissing in a park, kids playing football in a vacant lot, churches, traffic lights, billboards. I stand waiting with a group of people to cross the street, glance at the monuments that always show great men deep in thought, bearing the world on their shoulders.
I stroll through the big city where I do not speak the language, but what difference does that make? In big cities, nobody talks to anybody – everybody is so immersed in their problems, always in a hurry. And if they are sitting in the square, or waiting for the bus, anyone who approaches is seen as a threat. Strangers are suspect, we are taught that since we are children, and we remember that for the rest of our lives. No matter how miserable or lonely they are, however much they need to share the joy of a victory or some suffocating sadness, it is better and safer to remain silent.
Even so, I go up to someone: we do not speak a common language. I try a second person, then a third, until a man – in a hurry, like all the others – answers the question I want to ask, the answer to which I can almost always guess:
“Who is this street named after?”
“I haven’t the least idea. Are you lost?”
I explain that I know where my hotel is and thank him. In most of the streets in my home town I would give the same answer: I do not know the person to whom the homage is paid. The glory of the world is transitory, as Paul said in one of his epistles.
I stroll through the city, which is more than ten thousand kilometers from my apartment, but whose only difference is the view of the sea. In everything else, both cities resemble one another, and I wonder what I have been doing for nearly two months away from home. I decided to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of my pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela with a 90-day trip, traveling in whatever direction the wind carried me, accepting some professional engagements because that would protect me from the temptation that at this very moment seizes me with tremendous power: to go home. Have I made the wrong decision, have I been too radical? I make my way back to the hotel, once more I will pack my bags, say goodbye again to my friends, go through all the security controls at the airport, and move on to another big city where practically the same things await me.
I go into my room, turn on the computer and visit the blog that I created for this trip. My readers send their comments, and one of them seems to have guessed what I have been feeling today, because he tells the following story:
“Once upon a time there was a poor but very brave man called Ali. He worked for Ammar, a rich old merchant. One winter’s night Ammar said: “nobody can spend a night like this on top of the mountain without a blanket or food. But you need money, and if you can manage to do that you will receive a great reward. If you don’t, you will work for thirty days without pay”. Ali answered: “tomorrow I shall do this test”. But when he left the shop, he saw that a really icy wind was blowing and became scared, so he decided to ask his best friend, Aydi, if it was crazy of him to accept that bet. After reflecting a while, Aydi answered: “I shall help you. Tomorrow, when you are at the top of the mountain, look ahead. I will be on the top of the mountain next to yours, where I will spend the whole night with a bonfire lit for you. You look at the fire and think about our friendship – that will keep you warm. You will manage, and later on I shall ask you something in return.” Ali won the test, got the money, and went to his friend’s house: “You told me you wanted some payment.” Aydi grabbed him by the shoulders: ”Yes, but it isn’t money. Promise that if at any time a cold wind passes through my life, you will light the fire of friendship for me.”
The reader ends his comment on the blog: “wherever you may be at this moment, thanks for having paid us a visit. When you decide to come back to our country, the fire of friendship will always be lit for you”.
And although the loneliness of the journey is still here in my soul, now I understand better what I am doing here.
The next text will be posted on the 15th of May.
P.S: Dear reader,
During this journey, that is filling my soul with very interesting experiences, one of the most magical moments comes every night when I read the comments posted on this blog. Even though I can’t answer all of you, I want you to know that it’s very important to me to know that I’m not alone on this path. Thank you so much for your support and for the words and ideas that are now engraved on my heart.
Paulo Coelho
Dear Paulo,
I just wanted to say thank you!
Hi Paulo ,
As i am 25 year with lot of question in mind and U r 60 year old with solution for almost every question then also i started with Paulo . Because when i read your books , i felt u r my best friend so i called U by your name directly instead of saying ‘Dear Sir / Respected Sir’ .
I started reading your books , not because your are great, nation changing writer but for increasing my english vocabulary (I am from small villeage of India named ‘Wadala Bahiroba from ahmednager district in Maharashtra state’). As i started reading your books , i felt that you are writing very simialar to Vivekanand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami_Vivekananda) And OSHO(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajneesh)which are my problem solver friend’s.
I write above , just to say Thank You .
[quote comment="1325"]Dear Paolo Coelho.. You have a blog! I’m eightteen years old and I live in a cold dark little place up in north, Kalix, Sweden. From now until january/february it’s black outside 20 hours a day. And I won’t see the sun until mars. Your amazing books help me to survive the winter! They give me inspiration to travel and learn to know the soul of the world! I’m finish with school now in june 2008, then I don’t know what to do! I really look up to You Paolo, and I understand if You have a lot of replies to answer, but I have one question.. If You were eightteen years old.. and didn’t have any obligations, what would You do with Your life? Thankyou for taking Your time, I would be so happy if You answered but just to know that You, Paolo Coelho! my favorite author! is reading something written by me.. that’s amazing! Thank You, for giving me and the world all these wonderful words in Your books!
Hälsningar (=greetings in swedish), Linnéa[/quote]
Dear Linnea
even if it is cold and dark, you live in a wonderful country. Please try to get the best the night can offer
love
Paulo
Dear Paolo Coelho.. You have a blog! I’m eightteen years old and I live in a cold dark little place up in north, Kalix, Sweden. From now until january/february it’s black outside 20 hours a day. And I won’t see the sun until mars. Your amazing books help me to survive the winter! They give me inspiration to travel and learn to know the soul of the world! I’m finish with school now in june 2008, then I don’t know what to do! I really look up to You Paolo, and I understand if You have a lot of replies to answer, but I have one question.. If You were eightteen years old.. and didn’t have any obligations, what would You do with Your life? Thankyou for taking Your time, I would be so happy if You answered but just to know that You, Paolo Coelho! my favorite author! is reading something written by me.. that’s amazing! Thank You, for giving me and the world all these wonderful words in Your books!
Hälsningar (=greetings in swedish), Linnéa
[quote comment="218"]Growing up in one of the big cities of Europe , and then spending the next fifteen years in one of the remotest villages of Africa has taught me the difference between solitude and companionship. It is indeed strange that when we are alone we seek the company of others, and when we have people around us we dream of a peaceful existence where nobody interferes with our lives.In this tiny village of South Africa everybody knows everybody’s business. It’s not such a bad thing, really. It’s just that a simple trip to the bank or the local post office may take hours to complete, because of all the people you have to greet and discuss the weather with…The first few years have been more difficult, because I had to answer the same question ,over and over again, and every time I met someone (like the local hardware owner, or the pharmacist, or the vet), the question always was:”where do you come from?”. Having a rather unusual accent, but being able to learn fast the three predominant local languages, zulu, english, and some afrikaans, things changed a little…people wanted to know not only who I was, but also how come I managed to understand them so well although I had only been here for a short while? The answer to that is simple: when you feel isolated and lonely, you reach out to people. I was so desperate to communicate with others, that I managed to learn a lesson that all my years in school couldn’t teach me: anything is possible if you really make an effort. I did make the effort, and now I belong. I am part of this community and sometimes I speak of this village as if it were my birthplace.
In contrast with the big city, if you visit my village, nobody will know who you are, but almost everyone will greet you. They’ll give you directions to the nearest african craft shop, even if you don’t ask, and especially if you’re dressed like a traveller and you carry a camera and a fancy cellphone strapped to your backpack. The main road is full of people dressed in colourful clothes- they are the fruit sellers- and it is so crowded on saturdays that you cannot just drive through;this has its advantages, and that is, if you drive really slowly, you can actually do your shopping while sitting in the car, because bananas, and oranges, and african potatoes, even zulu medicine from traditional healers, whatever you may think of, is offered to you through the window of your car…so if you’re lonely, take a trip down town and you’ll see lots of people;afterwards you may take retreat on your sunny verandah and sip your tea while you read one of Paulo Coelho’s books and meditate about the meaning of life.
Dear Pilgrim,
thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us all. Your last entry has reminded me of what life in the city is like. I am most fortunate to wake up every morning to the sound of wild birds. At night all I hear is the song of nightjars and the crickets…It is so peaceful, so tranquil.
I bid you and your lovely wife a good night and will think of you both, as I follow you on your wonderful journey. May you find love and warmth everywhere you go. May you be safe, always.
Gabriela (not Ilala !)[/quote]
Gabriela,
I’m curious. Where is this villiage of yours? I also live in South Africa, but in a city and nowhere I’ve been is like the way you’ve described. I would so so so much like to go there, seeing that one does not always have the time and money to travel the world. At least then, I can travel this beautiful country of ours and see the amazing places it has to offer.
Kind Regards
Mr. Coelho,
I understand you are on a trip now, do you consider going to Southeast Asia? :)
I’m sort of reading your blog backwards :D
The story your reader sent you was beautiful.
~katrina
Dear Paulo,
I am an ardent reader of your books and whatever you pen.It has always been an experience to walk alongwith you through your words,no matter wherever you are. The words of wisdom and the pure human emotions which you narrate in the Warrior of light is really inspiring and thought provoking. I will be with you along this journey through this blog.
Good Luck and kind regards.
Shaji.
I think about life like a traveling. For me the purpose of this traveling is to collect moments – the moments when we are happy, beloved and when we feel painful necessity to give love. These flashes are like fuel for our successful journey to next station but they also give us a possibility to find the way back home easier.
I admire you extremely much about the way you open widely your soul to the readers and also for accepting the high price of these friendship with all of us.
The fire of friendship will always be lit for you.
Dear Paulo
In my first post I asked you if it is really necessary to reach out when you feel sad. I understand now that when you feel inspired to do so, it is better to take a risk, rather than embrace your loneliness. The alchemy of love brings people together, and the burdens we bear become lighter. This morning I woke up with a lighter feeling in my heart. The clouds of the last few days have given way to the warm sunshine. The sparrows play their games, joyously chasing each other to and fro.
Thanks to you I have a new friend in South Africa. And although we may never be in contact again after your pilgrimage, I know I’ll never lose her (although I do hope to find a way to contact her personally without having to post my email address. I’d appreciate some help with this). This service to others, favoring this exchange between your dedicated readers may be one of the particularly significant aspects of your pilgrimage. It certainly has made it more significant to me.
Dear Paulo Coelho,
Many thanks for coming to Moscow!
For me, it was really wonderful to meet a person whose books firstly took me out of depression and now are guiding me to my dream. Yes! I’m not scared anymore to follow it and though at times the sadness gets awaken in my lonely soul, I remember that I still have my dream. Dreams keep us alive.
Unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to ask you one question I had. Well, probably you’ll have a couple of minutes to answer it here. There is my question:
“You have met many different people throughout your life, and what still amases you in them (in both positive and negative ways)?”
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, experience and being a guide of something beautiful….
~Jane~
Dear Paulo,
I am working in a hospital with cancer patients and I try to accompany them on their way through chemotherapy. In dealing with illness, death and bereavement you change. Things that were important to you seem to be void and things to be considered unimportant suddenly bring meaning to your life.
Your stories and thoughts are meaningfull to me, like a road sign on my working day remembering me that when I get lost there are signs bringing direction to my life. Thank you!
Kind regards,
Patricia
Dear Paulo Coelho Esq,
I thank you for the opportunity to communicate with Maria via this blog. This is a new experience for me. It does remind me of the passage in The Zahir when people who did not know each other came together to share their experiences, and discuss their problems openly. I hope you do not consider this an abuse of the privilege you’ve given us- to follow you on your journey. I see this as a small part of your journey. The fact that you allow us to have a glimpse into your life has aquired a new dimension:we are now in touch with you, but also with each other. I enjoy many of the entries, in fact all of them, because sometimes I see those people as a reflection of myself, sometimes a younger me. I am trying to imagine those people’s faces as they write to you, some sad, some happy, some-like myself-a little nostalgic but nevertheless happy and content with all that’s going on in their lives. If I may utter another few words to Maria, I would like to say to her that my heart was filled with joy when I read her reply. She is a strong human being who transforms the negative aspects of her life into something positive, and meaningful, like her relationships with other people. I shall think of you, Maria, always.
Dear Magus, you make things happen, and it seems like everything you touch turns into gold. Alchemy, right? I am doing well with my studies, and I am living proof that one can achieve just about anything one desires. I am enjoying English Literature and hope to achieve the necessary skills to write in English language. I will know when I am ready, and for now I take pleasure in learning how to interpret and understand literary works. I sometimes refer to your novels when I write essays for assignments, and that gives me enormous pleasure.I am now taking a fresh look at your books (a more theoretical approach). Not bad for a romanian turned South African?I am also reading books by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, while I am waiting for your new book…I was hoping that the white feathers I sent you might come in handy…
May love and peace be with you, and of course, happiness…
Gabriela
PS What does the Magus read when he has time? Are there any literary works you recommend for an avid reader like I am? I enjoyed Kafka and G.G. Marquez very much. Also Umberto Eco and George Orwell. Talking about South African writers, I enjoyed “Disgrace” by JM Coetzee(a Nobel Prize winner for Literature) and also Credo Mutwa’s “Indaba, My Children”.
It was as it should have been. My soul was frozen, your book had warmed it. Thank you so much! journey is such an inspiration, isn’t it?
Hope, your journey to our country Russia will be such for you:)
When streets are crowded and loud
Watch for the lonely eyes
Don’t speak to those aloud
Just melt the greyish ice
Just look at soul, not pupils
Send warmth to that who’s lost
And smile with your wrinkles
And there’s no need for most…
Wish you all the best!
Dear Paulo
With your permission I’d like to reply to Gabriela.
Gabriela, thank you so much for your kind words. I enjoyed your post very much. You live in South Africa, having moved there from Europe. I felt a kindred spirit with you immediately. Twenty four years ago I moved to Italy from the United States where I grew up. I live in a small village, and I experience many of the same things you describe in your post. It seems people are the same everywhere and it is a good feeling.
I came to Italy to do the unthinkable…I was (and am still) in love with a wonderful man even though I spoke very little Italian and didn’t even know how to cook (that is scandalous in a small town in Italy!). I have two sons who are my pride and joy. I enjoy the beauty of the sea which is 3 kms from my home, and if I look out my kitchen window I feel like I can almost touch the snow capped mountains which are only 30 kms away. All of these things are a comfort for my soul, but at times I am overcome by that aching feeling that I think will never go away no matter how hard I try.
It seems like I have worked so hard to overcome my hardships, but then something new happens and the pain starts over again. My two brothers were also abused, although it did not last as long as my experience. But one of my brothers, the most sensitive and fragile one didn’t make it, and he took his life ten years ago. About a month ago my parents found out about our childhood trauma and now are trying to cope with the devastating news.
These events are simply the effect of the evil things that happened many many years ago. It’s like a ball of yarn that is being unraveled. Sometimes you find little knots, which are not too hard to work out, and and sometimes it just all gets tangled up. You have to have the patience and constance to sit there and untangle everything. And you have to do it alone, because you can’t talk to others about it all the time!
But it is also true that I have had many gifts and many opportunities and I have never wasted them. It has never crossed my mind to solve the problem the way my brother did. I choose the way of the warrior, and I go on even though I am wounded. Some days I feel as though my wounds have made me stronger, more sensitive to others and their needs, and more capable of giving. And sometimes, like when I hear any kind of horrible news about children, I feel like it happened to me and I realize that I need that same word of comfort I have given so readily to someone else before.
I do things to try to put my sadness aside. I have organized Italian language courses for immigrants who have come to try to find a better life in Italy. I feel a kinship with anyone who has left their home and family to follow their destiny. These activities and the friendships that have come from them give me strength. It may seem like I am helping them but in reality they are helping me!
I have learned that a gesture of love has the same power as a gesture of abuse. When I first came to Italy there was a little old woman (her name was Alfia) who took me to her heart. She used to secretly let me call my family from her house and would invite me often for afternoon tea. I’ll never forget her kindness. A couple of years ago a Polish girl named Aneta came to me for help. We’ve become friends and are still very close even though she now lives in another city. My friendship with Aneta is a reflection and a result of the kindness I received from Alfia. The power of Alfia’s love lives on, even though she passed away a few years ago. The power of my love will live on because Aneta knows that one day, she may be in the position to do the same for someone else. This gives me hope.
When I read Paulo’s post, I thought to myself “Paulo, a man who many people consider a maestro (and I am among these people), sometimes feels lost and lonely like me”. And I felt like I had to reach out to him. I’m happy to have found a friend in South Africa who reached out to him too. And to me. Many thanks Paulo and Gabriela.
Dear Sir
I am so familiar with your name but not read any..yet I have known you always…and now it seems I can not wait to get hold of a book penned by you..
In this world everyone is so absorbed in his own ruthless world yet we encounter such strangers who touch our lives in such meaningful ways..
let the light of friendship kindle each and every heart..
peace to all
Regards
Nidhi
India
Dear Paulo, it amazes me though perhaps I shouldn’t be amazed, as it comes over anyone now and then… loneliness… I see this photo of you with your fans from Odessa around you, the admiring look and shining smile from the woman at your right and the young man looking both embarassed and proud at your left and I start to smile myself.
It’s the curse and the blessing with travels – you meet such nice people but only for a short short time. The outpooring talks in trains telling each other ones life-stories, adresses changed, but no further contact, still the meeting is never forgotten.
I love to read all the comments here, it is truly fantastic! and how well do I not recognize the energy exchanged in the interaction between people, a booksigning aswell as in a concert, a parade or another sort of performance. You are physically tired but in your mind you can go on for hours! Take good care of yourself and never stop asking those questions ;-)
In the last two sentence I wanted to write “amusing” :-)
Faith decided differently I guess, because now it says “amazing”
???
Leendert
Mr. Coelho,
I was somehow surprised reading your post. And then the Sunlight bursted out through my windows in front of the Room, lightened the entire room with Sunlight. I smiled, you are just like us. :-) You tech us an important lesson. You do not have to be a world famous writer to experience what you experience. Both in the magical events as in the common human events, we are all the same. Maybe one has more means then others, which is nice, but as you say, like traveling, you find your same self in every single town. In my humble opinion, this is why you feel every town is the same, temporarily! I know you are sharing only a phase with us, yes?
I think there are 4 Me’s in Me, And No I think I am not a mental case. :-) 4 Archetypes that have been created during the first 18 years of my life, it took me 33 years to understand this. Then I have identified the 5th archetype as my sacred voice connecting my inner and outer universe. the 6th archetype is also outer and represented in you and everybody else (we are all one) and NR 7 is the Big Boss :-) The God in me and you and everything else there is in this universe and beyond. I have known this theory for all my life, but I was not accepted and very isolated. Now I have started writing and all this comes out? 7 Archetypes who, when traveling in ONE Body experience many things on every corner of the street in every person I see or meet, I feel Love. Every stone of every town is different! Every Bird……..aaaah I write about it on my blog. I thought this thought would be somewhat amazing for you. I honor and respect you deeply, reading the Alchemist changed my life, Thank you for that. :-)
Leendert Hendrik
The Netherlands
Dear Paulo, Again, your writing hangs before my Spirit as I feel the pain of challenge to respond or react, or is it both?
I am fueled by fury. I want to scream for you to wake and step out of self pity. I want to shout for you to stop and see your place of privledge. I want to remind you to appreciate the life you have achieved.
From a platform of wealth, success, adoration and love of thousands, you speak, as I read, of doubt in yourself and of the monotomy of life.
I want to yell for you to turn and acknowledge the guts that push you to be yourself, the study, the painfull testings, the celebrations and intitiations of integration that pour from you into your gift of storytelling.
To-day I felt angry that while you can choose to go anywhere in the world, at any time and at every place know people are ready to embrace you, I cannot and so the truth emerges. I who dream of adventure and study in Wisdom Schools cannot leave the prison of Sydney and while I have groomed my natural abilty to make every day an adventure I am tired and while I have comfortably arrived at responding to the outer world I am reacting to my inner world which has no anchor in Creation, God or whatever we call this ultimate Mystery.
Compassion creeps through my pain and I return to see you as not only all of the above credits but also a man who walks The Path as we all do.
Paulo as you well know this world has many gifts and I have spent much of to-day observing. In Australia it is Mother’s Day and I realised the Spiritual Mother of women around me sits behind the outer and Physical mother. I saw angry children giving gifts but without quality of time and I was aware of children giving time but without Spirit.
To-night I feel exhausted. I long to sleep on the Earth with the Stars to blanket and illuminate my Soul…again I will sleep early and use my creative imagination to pull the stars past the multi buildings around me, the trains, planes and beyond the people who drink and do drugs, in the park opposite. I will strive to close down on my pain and the many voices of the collective I hear.
To-night I will return to the Sun and reach across the Earth and see the Vortex and Lights of the Souls on the Path and again touch the basic instinct of life purpose beyond myself.
While writing this a radio programe on CS Lewis & Tolkein has been broadcast. Again I am reminded of the multiple arenas of vulnerablity within the reality of Spiritual Enquiry. Paulo, you are the Storyteller of Now and again I return to respect for your courage and honestly to be yourself.
Blessings Sweet Soul of Spirit….walk gently Christine
Dear Paulo
I saw you in my country, Iran a few years ago. I am a physicist and work on the quantization of spacetime. What comes to your mind immediately after read the jargon “quantization of spacetime”?
By the way, a few years ago I initiated building a webpage for an Iranian scholar from who I learnt and learn many things from the persian literature to the principles of sufism. You may like to have a look on it and let me know your points, if you feel to do so … (http://www.geocities.com/ansari213/elahi.htm)
Best Regards
Mohammad
started the message several times, but couldnt actually put in all together what i wanted to convey to you, Paolo.
hope you had a great time with people in BiblioGlobus today, as i know you give hope to someone every single minute in the world.
was thinking how to make you feel the warmth and depth of my thinking when i contemplate about you, but then realized i am not alone in these; these slight mental connections are the most important in our world, only friends and the thought in time can cheer up the stranger soul in travel and remind him of the reason, he is making the path.
being sad means the feeling of the strings of life in different cities, pulsation of million hearts and the mixture of wishes and thoughts, desires and tragedies..
how can a person find the sence of living in hectic of the days, routines and opinions?
how can one struggle for what he or she belives in, when this notion of time is compressing from day to day?
how can one get brave enough to get going if the dream is already calling and the Universe is calling for action?
i feel the calling, but when sharing – realize there is no one to understand this feeling, in this moments i become sad. my heart is smiling anyway, but i feel alone as i know we always walk this path on our own through lifetime.
i need to find my zahir
Tass
Dear Paulo, Thanks for the very friendly party in the hotel in Moscow on Saturday night. You have a gift for relaxing people who are in awe of you (and it turns out you are not a bad singer!)
Love Helen, your (sometimes singing) colleague from Australia in Moscow.
Oh, I remembered something from the Russian writer Isaac Babel, who was killed at age of 40 in a Soviet prison – he wrote the great novel “Konarmia” and some shorth stories. So, in my (un)professional translation, he said: “In the noble passion there is more beauty and hope, than in the joyless rules of the world.”
Hi, dear Paul! My name is Vitalya, 25 years old. I live in the Far East of Russia. I have just read your words on that site. And I can completly agree with you on some points concernig the life of the big cities. I sincerely hope that I will be able to meet you in Vladivostok ( as I got email notifying of the date of your arrival 30th of May). Vladivostok is considered to be the end of Russia and Moscow the start. I want to thank you for what you do. A lot of people have changed their lives. Your books help to understand better the everyday things which surround us and happen to us and not to forget about our inner world which has connection with the whole universe. We are with you!!! Despite the distance!!!
You know, from time to time I write poems which come out of my heart and soul. So here they are:
The road of your life.
You are standing at the begining of the road of your mortal life
Where there are so many obscure and hidden ways
You are to choose and find.
Where fate will take you by the hand
And guide you through eternity and time,
And remember that sometimes it won’t be so kind,
Leading you through corridors and labyrinths of human mind
Which keeps on wandering in the universe
In search of another newborn life.
On this road you’ll be a witness of the struggle
Between your commonn sense and feelings.
And it doesn’t matter who’ll be a winner,
You’ll find yourself again trapped in an invisible pitfall.
Where no one has to make a choice
Since it was made for you so long ago.
Here is another poem in Russian which I’ve just translated into English.
Whatever we do and wherever we go
On this earth we are always lonely and alone.
Still looking for the answer to the question
Why we came into this world.
Apparently the answer lurks deep within our souls
But not everyone is allowed to find the key
To the mysterious and invisible door
Which lead us through eternity and immortality of our souls.
And one day you’ll open that door and realize
Your body belongs to you no more.
And it doesn’t matter what you’ll read in your own thoughts
The answer will remain unfound and untold.
Cause whatever we do and wherever we go
On this earth we are always lonely and alone.
Чтобы мы не делали, и куда бы мы не шли
Чтобы мы не делали, и куда бы мы не шли,
Все равно в этой жизни мы остаемся одни.
Так и не найдя ответ на вопрос,
А для чего ж в этот мир мы пришли?
Быть может, ответ запрятан где-то глубоко в нашей души,
И не каждому суждено найти ключ от той тайной двери,
Которая ведет нас сквозь вселенной, и бессмертия души.
И однажды, открыв эту дверь, ты поймешь,
Что тело больше не принадлежит тебе – и это не ложь.
И не стоит даже верить тому, что в мыслях ты своих прочтешь.
Ответ ты так никогда и не найдешь,
Ведь чтобы мы не делали, и куда бы мы не шли,
Все равно в этой жизни мы остаемся одни.
P.S. WISH YOU ALL THE BEST!!!
Dear Paolo.
This story of one of your readers is truly beauful, the poor man facing the challenge and succeeds. That again is a proof that many people love you, in whatever country of the world. It may seem strange, that someone in your position can feel lonely, but I know the phenomenon that you think that no one understands you. After a while, someone suddely opens your eyes. For me, this person has been you.
If I were a magic woman, who could weave thoughts, feelings, emotions, spices, fragarances and gems, I would make a cloak for you, dark blue as a tuareg’s bourka, to keep you warm on the top of that mountain.
Dear Sir,
With your permission, I have a few words for a gentle soul that wrote an entry on this blog not long ago.Her name is Maria, and she tells of deep scars caused by many years of enduring abuse.
Maria, I am sorry for what you have gone through;please know that sharing your pain with Mr. Coelho and also with us readers, is indeed a very brave thing. To reveal such personal trauma must take a lot of courage. You must be feeling lonely. At times,those bad memories come alive, and perhaps it is very hard to talk about it, face to face, with someone. I hear you. And, although I do not know what your pain is like, I feel for you. Your words have touched me and I try to imagine what it’s like to have to carry a burden like that every day of my life. Long time ago, the thought that life was not worth living did cross my mind. And I know well what it’s like to be alone. I know what it’s like to be lost, and desperately so. But please believe me when I say to you, from all my heart, that there are wonderful things ahead of you, and there are many joys that make life worth living. Your sadness is evident in your words. Chase away the sadness with the thought of tomorrow…let yourself be happy sometimes…do unthinkable, unbelievable things…follow a dream…you must have a dream, don’t you? Giving in to your sorrow is like admitting defeat.Don’t let the abusers win! Don’t give them rights over your mind, and soul.
Maria, love will find you soon and you’ll put behind all this pain. Trust me, please. With sisterly love, Gabriela
Dear Paulo,
i came across your book The Alchemist when i needed it the most, and as so many others i also have journied with you since, with so many of us traveling with you in mind you are never alone. i left many many best friends and family behind when i moved to spain from england, near enough i know but far away it feels most days, but i know they think of me and i feel better for that feeling.
i followed my heart to this county four years ago and it led me to the man who is now my husband, i was happy already and not looking shall we say, but he and i complete eachother.
i am not good with words, and when i read yours they are always answers to questions i have when i need them most. thank you. all my friends no of you through me and my own blog of my not so far flung travels always quotes your words, i dont want anyone to miss out on not knowing you.
vaya con dios
marian
Dear Paulo,
Even we who are at home wonder what the hell we are doing here and want to be elsewhere. Is there ever any rest for the soul? Too many possibilities, too many places to be . . . advances in transportation, or small world sydrome . . . blessing or a curse?
I always like to say,
“No matter where you go . . . There you are.”
Sincerely,
Scarlett Erb
Perry, GA, USA
Hello, Two days ago your writing inspired me to embrace my adventurous child. I remembered the vitality of feeling alive with the passion for knowing. To-day through your writing I feel stilled and inside the cave of my solitude.
As a child I watched the sky and felt the pull of the planets. I believe I even heard their sound. This experience was strong and came at the same time of each year, always two weeks before my birthday.
At this time I developed high fevers. It was in the late 40’s and early 50’s, pre antibiotics and the doctors did not know what it was. Each year my parents were warned I may die and for a week I hung in never-land.
The memory of this has never left me. I called it and still know it as the Alice in Wonderland Feeling. One minute I was suspended in space drifting in joy past Jupiter and Saturn. The feeling of being totally alive pulsed through me, then without warning I was flung back and hurled down into a crushing and suffociating cell. Agony ate my entire body. I remember screaming to be held so to feel safe yet the touch of a cotton sheet felt like hot spears and I screamed not to be touched.
I oscilated between being too big or too small and all sound pierced my body. I felt I was totally alone. Only the sky gave me comfort. I first experienced this when my father took me to lie under the night sky. I remember falling into myself and everything deep inside me went quiet.
To place a child with fever on damp grass in Autumn did not make sense but my father knew what to do. He, his mother and grandmother all experienced that same big/little fevers.
Paulo like you I love the outer life. I naturally enjoy meeting strangers and hearing their stories. I am inspired by what I see around me and would love to be able to walk as a pilgrim but my finance does not support this so I content myself with ‘travelling’ everyday and exploring my surrounds as if for the first time. I can step inside my little apartment holding joy and with this richness I am never sure…I so want to ‘go home’ in both worlds.
walking gently… Christine
Dear Paulo,
I’m so glad to know you traveling to Russia, and I wish you be delighted with this path.
Even if you will feel lonely, know that every moment someone or something is waiting for you and wishes you harmony and luck.
Yours faithfully,
Natalia.
Paulo,
Thank you for sharing and opening so many new perspectives through your words and your experience. Your word about following one’s dreams was given to me by a good friend on the twilight of my adolescence. I was given a small flame that ignited itself in my heart and shone in my mind. Trying as I do to keep the light through my much enjoyed readings of your books. As I read on, I feel it was truly the book that had found me because I feel as if I’m looking for answers through asking the right questions. Though many things for me are still indefinite, I’m able to feel happy inside and I can feel like I am moving forward towards somewhere I’m supposed to be. Many blessings to you.
Dear, Paulo Coelho.
Adabz :) (Means Hello in Urdu Language)
Living with Your words …day in and day out ..Makes me more complete. if feel your soul in mine ..Funny isn’t it?
But keep on making the difference. You are my companion on this life journey of self-discovery, through the deep searching of mystery of my soul.
The other name for life is to struggle for everything that is necessary to keep up life and would be meaningless if we detach goals from it. The prior most goal is to paint his life with the colors and while doing so achieves all his goals and fulfills his every ambition.
I read the book Falun Gong, my Primordial Spirit left my body and flew into the sky while I slept. I experienced a relaxation and happiness that I had never experienced before. I flew energetically and laughed, free from all anxiety. The situation surprised me and I didn’t know where I was. There were neither clouds nor houses. All I could see were different colors. Now, I understand. That was the place where my life originated. Those were the colors of my place of origin. I know that what I want to paint are “the colors of life” from the primordial universe.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” –Aristotle
“people should know when they are conquered…”
I am curious, curious about what lies beyond my reach. I love people coz everyone has something to offer, something to teach.
Want to Share few words of wisdom… which you have shared with us earlier…
There are moments in life when you let go, and moments when you focus. Right now, I live in a moment when I only am, but I know the moment when I will focus again is going to come. One can sense these things. It’s the vibration of life.
Always try to stay focused on following the dreams. Every defeat, every fall and every problem is just a part of that dream.
Dear Paulo Coelho although you have been to big cities of the world …. But Please try to visit those destroyed cities in Pakistan who has been hit by the worst earth quake of its kind in the history of this region 7.5 on scale on the 8th October 2005… and not only that… Please come to this part of world also … since you said once that
“the world is all about honest human relationships.
It is an incredible exchange of love care and respect”
My team and I can arrange things for you … for your visit here in Pakistan. A visit with a vision and for the greater good of the society since you also have a mission and vision like ours (my team) regarding the education and the betterment of the underprivileged and ostracized members of society. You know my email id.. Hope to hear from you soon so that we can exchange our profiles and other related information regarding work and objectives and agenda you being in Pakistan and all other small details … in greater depth….
My Teacher and Magician Paulo Coelho hope to hear from you soon regarding this … just want to share that Hope has always dominated my life … so do not take it away since I am really hopeful to see you here in my part of the world, for the greater good of the society!!!
People seem to pass by and so dose the age but sometimes either of them stop and make you see things from a different angle.
Thank you and Carry on and keep making the difference.
Warmest Regards,
Fatima Saeed Khan
Lahore, Pakistan.
Dear Paulo,
Today I decided not to spent to much time behind my laptop. I think it is a waste of time (or you have to use it for work of course). So this morning I put my laptop in the bag and put it upstairs. But then I remembered you were going to write a new story today. So at the moment I lay in bed with the laptop and read it!
It is strange to hear that you felt lonely. Sometimes you forget that a person who writes books with a lot of wisdom in it like you is also a person as everyone else with the same thoughts and fears. You are human as well! I like to read these things. It makes myself stronger! That if you feel sad/happy/anxious or whatever…that every person feels these things once in a while! Even a great writer like you!
What a true story from one of your readers! Very nice to read.
I want to tell you that you inspired me last week to ask my friends and family two questions about life. One was what they would do tomorrow if they knew it would be the last day on earth and the other one what their ‘dream job/activity’ in life would be if there were no restrictions. For example you didn’t have to do something for the money. It was so great to read all their answers. I got to know them all better. Some of them found it easy to answer. Others found it very difficult. And one didn’t want to answer it. Too scared to find out the answers would be too far from her own life now. Because you have to deal with certain things. You can’t think of somethings without restrictions.
The biggest gift was that people thanked my that I let them think about it! Because now it is back in their head and heart so they can change things. Because as you said: everyone is so in a hurry. They forget to life and go after dreams! I came to these questions after I re-read The Zahir.
Well, it was just something I would share with you! Wish you a nice day with your wife! Looking forward to the next lines!
Bye!
Growing up in one of the big cities of Europe , and then spending the next fifteen years in one of the remotest villages of Africa has taught me the difference between solitude and companionship. It is indeed strange that when we are alone we seek the company of others, and when we have people around us we dream of a peaceful existence where nobody interferes with our lives.In this tiny village of South Africa everybody knows everybody’s business. It’s not such a bad thing, really. It’s just that a simple trip to the bank or the local post office may take hours to complete, because of all the people you have to greet and discuss the weather with…The first few years have been more difficult, because I had to answer the same question ,over and over again, and every time I met someone (like the local hardware owner, or the pharmacist, or the vet), the question always was:”where do you come from?”. Having a rather unusual accent, but being able to learn fast the three predominant local languages, zulu, english, and some afrikaans, things changed a little…people wanted to know not only who I was, but also how come I managed to understand them so well although I had only been here for a short while? The answer to that is simple: when you feel isolated and lonely, you reach out to people. I was so desperate to communicate with others, that I managed to learn a lesson that all my years in school couldn’t teach me: anything is possible if you really make an effort. I did make the effort, and now I belong. I am part of this community and sometimes I speak of this village as if it were my birthplace.
In contrast with the big city, if you visit my village, nobody will know who you are, but almost everyone will greet you. They’ll give you directions to the nearest african craft shop, even if you don’t ask, and especially if you’re dressed like a traveller and you carry a camera and a fancy cellphone strapped to your backpack. The main road is full of people dressed in colourful clothes- they are the fruit sellers- and it is so crowded on saturdays that you cannot just drive through;this has its advantages, and that is, if you drive really slowly, you can actually do your shopping while sitting in the car, because bananas, and oranges, and african potatoes, even zulu medicine from traditional healers, whatever you may think of, is offered to you through the window of your car…so if you’re lonely, take a trip down town and you’ll see lots of people;afterwards you may take retreat on your sunny verandah and sip your tea while you read one of Paulo Coelho’s books and meditate about the meaning of life.
Dear Pilgrim,
thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us all. Your last entry has reminded me of what life in the city is like. I am most fortunate to wake up every morning to the sound of wild birds. At night all I hear is the song of nightjars and the crickets…It is so peaceful, so tranquil.
I bid you and your lovely wife a good night and will think of you both, as I follow you on your wonderful journey. May you find love and warmth everywhere you go. May you be safe, always.
Gabriela (not Ilala !)
Dear Paulo Coelho,
While reading your most recent entry, I was struck with a feeling of deja-vu…but let me try and tell you that for whatever it is worth, for me it has been my daughter who changed my perspective, for the kind of slowing down a child requires, and trying to see the world through her eyes has taken away for me all the unfamiliarlities and questions with regard to my whereabouts. Maybe some of the earlier questions have become less urgent…maybe humanity takes on a different shape among those around children – for example, if you go to a playground in whatever city, don’t you think that whatever it is that makes us one, whatever it is that connects us is right there? I know that playgrounds are not to be taken for granted though, for I live in India most of the time, where childhood is defined in different terms for many if not most children…have you looked into a child’s eyes today?
With warm regards, many thanks for your blog, and hoping to see you here in Germany, this is from Mareike…and good night!
Good everning, dear Sir.
It is great that You decided to go on this Path. Of course You are not alone. Millions of people are dreaming of meeting with You. And Your journey will give some of them this great chance. I’m one of these people.
I know You are in Russia for the second time. It’s very nice that You liked our country and decided to go there another time.
We will try to give You our energy and thoughts. Hope this will help You to go through this path.
I will be waiting for Your new experiences and You yourself.
With great respect and love, Marina from Yekaterinburg.
will u visit st.petersburg?
i (and not only i) would be so glad to see you here:)
thnx
Dear Paulo, When I was a child, I read a book called The Small Miracle by Paul Gallico. It was about a boy who wanted to take his sick donkey to see the Pope. Everyone laughed at him. But an American soldier said to the boy: “My lad, don’t take no for an answer.” And the boy got his audience with the Pope, who cured his donkey.
I am sending you three messages because God loves a trinity. If at all possible, I would like to invite you to coffee in my secret garden in Moscow.
I hope to hear from you but will not trouble you again.
Love Helen.
Dear Paulo
The journey can be lonely, can’t it? -Even though you may be surrounded by people, even by loved ones, there are times when you feel so alone. When that feeling of loneliness overcomes you, your instincts tell you to reach out and share it with someone, or do anything to get rid of that disturbing sensation.
But should you really reach out every time it happens? The risk of keeping it to yourself is that you may end up wallowing in it, and it could bring you to isolation and then depression. On the other hand, if you share your loneliness you may discover that the people you share it with really do not understand you.
I think that sometimes you need to embrace your loneliness. Maybe you have been giving too much of yourself, so that bittersweet feeling might be a message from the deepest part of you.
Paulo, the things I am saying to you are the same things I’ve been saying to myself these days.w When I feel this way, my mind takes me back to the past, to my experience of repeated sexual abuse by two men, that began at age 3 and ended when I was 15. Many people share my experience The statistics say that 3 out of every 10 adults have experienced such abuse -so apparently I am not alone. But I think that the scars that have formed in the deepest part of a soul that has experienced such horror, are so deep that they can never be filled. People like me undoubtedly are warriors of the light. But sometimes this warrior is so tired. And so lonely.
I know you have many scars too. Do you have a word for me, soul to soul? Or a word for other warriors like me that you want to share with us all?
Maria
Dear Paulo!
Thank you for your love. I am sure you know, that you are not alone, because you get to know the life and I believe that you feel, the universe turns with you. So, thank you for the fire of firendship and when the time will come, we will light it for you, if you want. I hope to finde the right matches, when the time will come :-) .
Each storm has the wind and the air in it to breath.
Love Hubert
Dear Paulo, “There where you are awaited, you always arrive on time.” I have been waiting for you for a long time. I do hope you can find a little time to drink coffee with me in Moscow.
If you are able, I will show you a secret garden in a place where you would never think to find it. It will refresh you ahead of your long train journey.
With love Helen.
Dear Paulo,
Even dont you think I had been following you since I did read ” EL ALQUIMISTA” and I so glad that you are still walking in the path of looking the real truth Im talking about AMOR.
I believe in you and I think that you can pass in this life like a real messenger from LOVE.
Keep walking until your heart still bitten and I´ll be here waiting for the goodnews.
Since Nicaragua, Your partner Gabriel.
My dearest writer,
I am so upset coz i i will miss the train… You will be in Moscow doing a book signing session within 12th-15th of May and i will arrive in Moscow on the 16th morning. But i do hope that one day you will tread your path in my small ancient town Osh.
With love
Louisa
Dear Sir,
About a year and three quarters ago, I had never heard of you or your work. Then I met someone who was a stranger to me but later came to be one of my dearest friends. He told me about how much he liked your work and how u were someone i should read about. And for this gift I shall always cherish tht stranger………for he and I are now estraged again…….but every time I read a book by you or come across something related to you, I remember how u came to me in a recommendation. And for tht, I shall always be grateful for tht stranger.
One must not be weary of strangers, coz they are only friends you havent met. But sadly, all people in this world are not meant to bear ur friendliness, and though people might promise to keep the fire of friendship lit, the cold weather and the insufferable gails, sometimes extinguish this fire. And on these chilly nights i wonder, about the strangeness of a stranger turning into a friend and then into a stranger again….
For the fire lit always for you….I am glad.
Dear Paulo, You have affected my life so powerfully, or rather through you my life has been affected so powerfully, that if it is at all possible, I would like to see you during your brief visit to Moscow. Like you, I was a journalist. Indeed, I am still the Moscow correspondent of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age of Australia. As a direct result of reading your Alchemist, I walked myself in the desert with the Australian Aboriginals and have written a book called The Love Song of Udjerlah and Muthbadah. It is now being translated into Russian by my co-author, the Russian pianist Vitaly Matveyev, who waited for me while I was in the desert.
Please say yes to at least a cup of coffee. I feel I cannot miss this chance.
With love from Helen Womack.
And the smile, glance and words You share personally to Your readers in all corners of the world changes so many lifes too !!!
With warmth and love,
Dasha B.
and yes, the meetings are everywhere, even virtual, they focus the soft light of the heart on the fullness of the moment present. In various dimensions, we are never alone, liked.. we are one. O: -)
You are never ever lonely in this universe, Dear Magician when so many wonderful human souls each moment act according to the spiritual wisdom You brought into their hearts; when each second someone turns the page of Your book and sees his life clearly…
When so many people each moment send You the rays of light and gratitude for the way You changed their lifes… and You live in the heart of each of Your reader.
And though each of us is indeed lonely in this world, we are all at the same time within the divine love that unites.
Thesedays of Your world pilgrimage YOU let us all feel this union and love like may be never before.
Love,
Dasha B.
And though all citits may seem the same, in each there might be a magical door into something unexpected and somemthing that may warm the heart.