Preventing rheumatism
The centipede decided to ask the wise man of the forest, a monkey, what was the best remedy for the pain in his legs.
“That’s rheumatism”, said the monkey. “You’ve got too many legs. You ought to be like me; with just two, rheumatism hardly ever appears”.
“And what do I do to have just two legs?”
“Don’t bother me with details”, answered the monkey. “A wise man just gives the best advice; it’s up to you to solve the problem”.
Can I help?
As soon as he opened the church, the priest saw a woman come in, sit down on the front pew, and put her head between her hands. Two hours later, he noticed that the woman was still there in the same position.
Worried, he decided to approach her:
“Can I do anything to help?” he asked.,
“No, thanks”, she answered. “I was just getting all the help I need when you interrupted me”.
Jesuit Anthony Mello comments: “in a monastery no-one wrote Don’t talk on the notice-board. What was written was: Talk only if you can make the silence better.”
I know what’s right
A peasant was returning home when he saw a donkey in the field.
“I’m not a donkey”, said the animal. “I saw the Messiah being born. I have lived for two thousand years, and am still alive to give this testimony.”
Frightened, the peasant ran to the church to tell the parish priest. “Impossible!”, he said. The peasant took him by the hands and led him to where the donkey was. The animal repeated everything he had said before.
I repeat: animals cannot talk” said the priest.
But you just heard it talk!” insisted the peasant.
How stupid can you be! You’d rather believe a donkey than a priest! “
This will work for us too
A fable of the Lebanese writer Mikail Naaimé is a good illustration of the danger of following the methods of others, no matter how noble they may seem to be:
“We need to free ourselves from being slaves to men”, said an ox to his companions. “For years we have listened to human beings saying that the door to freedom is stained with the blood of martyrs. Let’s discover that door and knock it down with the strength of our horns”.
For days and nights they walked down the road until they saw a door all stained with blood.
“Here is the door to freedom”, they said. “We know that our brothers were sacrificed on this spot”.
One by one the oxen went through the door. And it was only inside, when it was too late, that they realized that it was the door to the slaughterhouse.
Deciding the fate of others
Malba Tahan tells the story of a man who came across an angel in the desert and gave him water. “I am the angel of death and have come to find you”, said the angel. “But since you have been good, I will lend you the Book of Destiny for five minutes; you can change whatever you want”.
The angel handed him the book. Leafing through the pages, the man read the lives of his neighbors. He was discontented: “Those people don’t deserve such good things”, he thought. Pen in hand, he began to make each of their lives worse.
Finally he reached the page of his own destiny. He saw his tragic ending, but just as he was about to change it, the book vanished. Five minutes had passed.
And right there and then the angel took the man’s soul.
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i have been lost for a while , however thanx to your writing i feel more power than ever before and have embraced my life much more.. im sure you here it all the time but hey, many thanks, time is precious. S.
hey Paulo, i’m big fans of you.
it’s great that you have public blog, it’s like talking to you face to face. thousand people have told you already, i believe…that i wanna be like you! tell me how to write in simple but magnificent? and inspiring, paulo talk to me and wake me up…you are the legend!
Love
Mona
were have all the flowers gone , picked by young girls every one. when will they learn.
were have all the young girls gone , married to young men every one. when will they learn.
were have all the young men gone , of to war every one. when will they learn.
were have all the soldiers gone , all in the graveyards every one. when will they learn.
were have all the graveyards gone , grown over by flowers every one. when will they learn.
if you do not follow your own path then you will end up like these people. they fought and died for other peoples dreams. all of them idealists. just fighting for the wrong idea. follow your path and not someone elses for only YOU know what is truly best for YOU.
yes. True. As long as its not you!
Beautiful…how many times do we realise this single truth? …and preachers and politicians would be out of business, though!
But how many of us would know what our destiny is, unless it unfolds and posterierity records what became our destiny – without giving in to fatalism…
Its in choices that we make… except we have seen a certain circularity in world history and humankind’s trajectory (with continued suffering, oppression and not knowing where to draw the line between connected events, global warming etc.?). Wonder if there are a limited number of choices that we can make as communities and may be more choices as individuals…
The first time i read, my attention was not yet caugth but later on i realise that its true and its really happen.although i heared a lot of thing still i can’t beleive,but now i read all your page it convince me to pursue me to read its very interesting.
First “monkey and ox” warrior of lights can show the mirror of life.
Secondly “angel desert” it symbolized time management…
Expecting a lot of words to be publish from your colunm.
HI,
Thank you for deciding to write, your books have touched me and guided my life on many levels. I refer to favourite quotes and passages to help me steer the course as I help my two sons find their own place in this world. Best wishes and blessings whereever your path may bring you.
yours,
Tina
[quote comment="400"]Like millions , even I am too big fan of Paulo Coelho books . I always keep “Warrior of Light” handy so that I could refer it, whenever I feel like I have lost track of life OR whenever I am confused to understand the frequency of my life. The word Warrior itself gives me enough strength to stand upright and fight again.
Whenever I find some situation very tough to pass through , I make my own “Warrior of Light” kind of statements, which has helped me a lot. I imagine my self with a several wound on my body, and a sword glittering in my hand, the sounds of enimy(problems) coing towards me on horses…. and I say to myself ” Welcome to the human race honey”.
The above stories, like many of your books have a very good messages in it. I liked the “monkey”, “Ox” and “Desert Angel” stories the most. Again all these stories are within the boundary of “warrior of light “. I mean , the hidden messages in the stories are nothing but some or the other rule which “Warrior of light” follows in his life.
In “Monkey” and “Ox” stories one can say: “Warrior of Light listens to everyone’s suggestion but use his instincts whether to follow them or not”
In “Desert Angel” story one can say: ” Warrior of light should first worry about his own battle. Think everything and every possibility to win it and not to waste time in praying or wishing for the failure of others”
Looking forward to read more books and columns from you.
Thanks
Shekar[/quote]
Like millions , even I am too your big fan. I always keep “Warrior of Light” handy so that I could refer it whenever I feel like I have lost track of life OR whenever I am confused to understand the frequency of my life. The word Warrior itself gives you enough strength to stand upright to fight again.
Whenever I find some situation very thought to pass through , I make my own “Warrior of Light” kind of statements, which has helped me a lot. I imaging my self with a several wound on my body, and a sword glittering in my hand…..
The above stories like many of your books have a very good message in it. I liked the “monkey”, “Ox” and “Desert Angel” stories the most.Again all these stories are within the boundary of “warrior of light ” I mean , the hidden messages in the stories are nothing but some rule which “Warrior of light follows in his life”.
In “Monkey” and “Ox” stories one can say: “Warrior of Light listens to everyone’s suggestion but use his instincts whether to follow them or not”
In “Desert Angel” story one can say: ” Warrior of light should first worry about his own battle. Think everything and every possibility to win it and not to waste time in praying or wishing for the failure of others”
Looking forward to read more books and columns from you.
Thanks
Shekar
Well Aditya!!!
Desire… Hope….Dream… And make it Happen!!!! (isn’t it ?)
Sachiko…. All the best for the Pilgrimage u are ‘hoping’ to do one day like Santiago…..
I was waiting if anyone will point out, but then why wait, all beginings are made today not tomorrow, postponement to tomorrow is the biggest enemy of my warrior of light. planned retreats, palnned evrythinbg is OK everything is OK so long as it’s done in full awareness. I am sorry I sound the way I do, hope this group of warriors will understand. Thru u I too am struggling to remain on the path.
[quote comment="300"]Hei, Paulo.
During the last couple of months I have read The Zahir, Alchemist, The Devil and Miss Prim, and Elleven minuttes.
I am looking foreward to read more of your books.
Glad to find your blog. I hope one day I can make my own pilgrimage as you inspire.[/quote]
dear friend stop hoping and start making piligrimages, may be small once from tomorro maybe once a week, go to the beach for 2 hours, spend some time in meditation, go to the chruch and do some vluntary service, humbling kind of maybe brooming the st. or say gardening lovingly, u u wnat to go on pilgrimage, u must be aquainted with your deity, if not no problem, start and for god’s sake stop telling any one that u hope, of course u hope, otherwise u won’t be here anymore, stop hoping and start being, now, (bole to, hindi for,… ) NOW. fisrt step ignore this piece and forget about it. no really i mean it, u cannot do anything other than having received another blow to wake u out of u’r sleep of hope, forget it, but remember it, see i care not whether u r still alive or dead, did u leave this piece just like that or out of some desire, whether u will ever see this, if yes will ever read it, whatevre, my present action is based on a trust, a trust which can not be betrayed, becauyse it is not looking at the reault at all, I can feel your pain, so i have shot this, rest is …
aditya
My husband had a spinal constriction all of a sudden inthe year 2000. from being a healthy person who would play golf and tennis every day he became a vegatable neck downwards. operations to ease that left him paralysed . he had to be carried to his office ( we are automobile dealers )
where people wold stare , he would sometimes soil his clothes, and i could not bear it. i begged him to set up his office in our premises , but he refused. the staff has seen me fielding all the good times, i have got the chance to be humble now , should i dismiss it ?
he is now able to walk with alimp and also sign . he is able to carry on his daily duties ably.
i am glad he did not listen to me . he is very well respected today and all because of his humility.
his unstinting faith in god and also that god is keeping him as best as He can , sees us through all. my husband is in extreme pain at all times, he laughs it away. he says man gives everything a name , so if you call my pain as my joy – see how much joy i have.
it is after all God’s will , to accept it smilingly is the answer
[quote comment="335"]Amanto and Peter,
Thanks for your comments on my story. :) Again I was feeling guilty for writing so much, and you’ve relieved my guilt a little. ;) I admit, this last posting must qualify for some friggen world’s record for its ungodly length! ;) I didn’t expect anyone, including Paulo, to even take the time to read it! Ha! :)
After doing that exercise that I spoke of regarding facing my fears…one of my fears, I’ve realized, is of flying..which I inherited from my husband. I haven’t flown in 18 years and as a result, stopped dreaming of travel to different countries to which I couldn’t drive or take a train. After realizing how I limited my thinking with this fear, I’ve decided to plan on taking a trip to some of the countries that I longed to visit in the past. The reason I’m saying this is because Ireland is one of the countries on the top of my list, as, my dad’s grandparents were from there. So, when I come to Ireland, I’ll look in the phone book for ‘Peter’ and I’ll come to visit, alright? Hee hee! :)
I recently was looking at the different WOL sites…in different languages…and noticed that someone in the Portuguese section complained to Paulo that he never comments on the site, and so he commented. Should we do something like that here so that we’ll hear from him more? :) Hee hee! :) Like call him names or something to that effect? That ungrateful BASTARD! He never even stops by to say ‘hi’ anymore. The nerve of him! :)
Wishing you all…well..you know…good stuff! ;)
Lots of love and only good humor,
-Deb ;) New and Improved….Now with 10% less guilt, and 75% less fear![/quote]
Dear Deb,
not that I want to encourage people to call me “bastard”, but you’re right, I’ve been reading more than talking these days… I do though drop a comments everynow and then.
I just want to tell you that your story at the prison moved me and that I think that you’re definetly overcoming your fears by listening to your intuition.
All the best
Paulo
I loved all your stories – and I get them delivered personally – like I have my own personal sage! I loved the story about the priest and the donkey. I spent a lifetime in a religion that told me that God was angry and every thing I did was bad. I always believed there must have been something else. When people from said church conned my aged grandmother to invest in their churches and then never repaid her – I mean really what guts it must take to go to church, take communion, pray and then steal from little old widows. That was the last straw – I could not take it anymore. I sympathize with Debbie in so many ways – I also feel she should not worry about talking too much – I loved everything she said too. So I walked around in my life pretending that I was doing what I should but I still felt stagnant and it occurred to me one day that all of the beliefs all spout one thing – do unto others as you would have them do unto you … just with different words. I tried that too, but God was not anywhere where I could feel him – but I knew if I just did that little part that was good enough. Then one day I went to an Orthodox church (Greek) on my rounds to find a place for my son to grow up and know God – and in the midst of the choir chanting the priest sings out Wisdom stand and attend and I felt goosepimples all over my body and I knew that without a doubt God was in the room. I went a few weeks later and talked to the priest and told him that I wanted to become a part of this faith – his words are ones I will never forget and the reason I will never leave – If you want to be a part of our church welcome, if you expect me to convince you to convert I will not, you must convince yourself, for your relationship with God is yours and yours alone. I wanted to scream – I have found the most beautiful faith – there is no judgement, no fighting over money, no one tells you of the budget shortfall as part of the sermon, and everytime the priest calls on Wisdom to attend I know He is attending. So don’t lose faith that there is a place for you to worship your God as you wish – you dont have to settle for a priest who argues with the truth. Just thought I would share this … I was lost for so long but I have been found – He never stopped looking for me! What a blessed gift!
Jackye – and still you are searching for it,
so maybe it’s not that far away….
Debbie – great story!
oh, I love to read the stories and comments here :-)
how does faith comes back into one’s life? beyond religion and quotes and others… i have lost it along the way somewhere and don’t seem to be able to get it back
HI
I VERY ARDENTLY READ ALL YOUR BOOKS. BEING A HINDU IN INDIA WE ARE EXPOSED TO A LOT OF IDEAS LIKE YOURS BUT VERY FEW CAN FIND THE WORDS FOR EXPRESSION. I THANK THE LORD FOR THE BENEFIT OF THIS EXPOSURE.
I WANTED TO SHARE AN INSIGHT.
AN ELDERLY NEIGHBOUR WOULD BE KNITTING FOREVER , HER PATTERNS AND COLOURS SO VIBRANT. IT WAS AMAZING HOW SHE COULD GO ON DESPITE A HUSBAND WHO BEAT HER UP , A DRUNKEN SON AND A FLUSTERED DAUGHTER IN LAW , TILL ONE DAY I REALIZED THAT SHE HAD SO MUCH BEAUTY IN HER AND THAT THIS WAS SOMETHING SHE COULD CONTROL AND CONTRIBUTE AS HER OWN MAKING.
IT WAS HER WAY OF SURVIVAL.
IT TAKES ALL TYPES TO MAKE THE WORLD.
I COME FROM A CITY IN THE CENTRE ON INDIA.
Amanto and Peter,
Thanks for your comments on my story. :) Again I was feeling guilty for writing so much, and you’ve relieved my guilt a little. ;) I admit, this last posting must qualify for some friggen world’s record for its ungodly length! ;) I didn’t expect anyone, including Paulo, to even take the time to read it! Ha! :)
After doing that exercise that I spoke of regarding facing my fears…one of my fears, I’ve realized, is of flying..which I inherited from my husband. I haven’t flown in 18 years and as a result, stopped dreaming of travel to different countries to which I couldn’t drive or take a train. After realizing how I limited my thinking with this fear, I’ve decided to plan on taking a trip to some of the countries that I longed to visit in the past. The reason I’m saying this is because Ireland is one of the countries on the top of my list, as, my dad’s grandparents were from there. So, when I come to Ireland, I’ll look in the phone book for ‘Peter’ and I’ll come to visit, alright? Hee hee! :)
I recently was looking at the different WOL sites…in different languages…and noticed that someone in the Portuguese section complained to Paulo that he never comments on the site, and so he commented. Should we do something like that here so that we’ll hear from him more? :) Hee hee! :) Like call him names or something to that effect? That ungrateful BASTARD! He never even stops by to say ‘hi’ anymore. The nerve of him! :)
Wishing you all…well..you know…good stuff! ;)
Lots of love and only good humor,
-Deb ;) New and Improved….Now with 10% less guilt, and 75% less fear!
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