By Paulo Coelho
An old blackbird found a piece of bread and flew off with it. When they saw this, the younger birds pursued him in order to attack.
Confronted by imminent battle, the blackbird dropped the piece of bread into the mouth of a snake, thinking to himself:
‘When you’re old, you see things differently. I lost a meal, it’s true, but I can always find another piece of bread tomorrow. However, if I had hung on to it, I would have started a war in the skies; the winner would become the object of envy, the others would gang up on him, hatred would fill the hearts of birds and it could all go on for years. That is the wisdom of old age: knowing how to exchange immediate victories for lasting conquests.’
Welcome to Share with Friends – Free Texts for a Free Internet
brij
You will do what you usually do, and survive , learning what you can from each situation and move slowly on, until you regain the pace.
Breach of trust is always painful. But is one of the double jeopardies in life – we cannot live whilst we choose to not trust, and it is always open to being misplaced or dis-used.
All the best.
LJ
Hi,
Someone broke my trust today….
i am really shattered…it happened at this time, when i am in a foreign country,,,and waiting for days to pass, but now i feel like…so much disconnected from the world…
Help me!
Hi All
My end to the blackbird story:
“The blackbird died of starvation few days after. The younger birds mourned him sincerely for his wisdom.
In the meantime younger snakes were preparing for war.”
Best Regards
I Love these pages ! xxxx
and the people of course.
wind
the only way u can teach anyone peace or anything , is by practicing it, few ever listens to words ( not even small children ) they see what u do, and if what u do is in line with what u say, people listen, so good that u want to make this a more peaceful place, good luck to you.
dear Paulo,
i just found this site and am delighted that i can read more of your inspiring words. i work teaching children (sometimes teaching archery) and i constantly think of the manual of the warrior of light to help me through difficult situations and challanges in life. you help me every day to become a better person and encourage me in my faith that i can teach the youth of today to make the world a better, more peaceful place.
There is pinball on computers. It’s quite fun! I used to play with my sister. We would take one side each :) :) :) What a delightful reminder of something so simple and so happy!
Paulo,
I enjoy all your writings to the maximum. I have only felt that maximum satisfaction when reading your books, especially as they turn to vital discussions across boundaries.
Nidaa
hell O paulo & freinds,
the object of all that up above,
is simply that the only way ahead,
for humanity is to be satisfied ,
with the least possible,
if you are happy , content ,alive ,
then sure you are happier with more,
or you will then realize how much ,
past you carry with you presently,
your true you is the organism ,
that we call life.
bo0om
fLUXman
Dearest Paulo,
hmmm.. I decided to come back. I was thinking about your story, and about animals. I think that when you talk to animals, they may not understand your words, but maybe they understand your feelings.. And your heart. I know that you can even share your soul with them at times. I recently went to the zoo:
i was walking around the aquarium, basking at the beauties of the sea, until i ended up at the sharks. A tank filled with two solid killing machines. Their strong jaws filled with sharp, rugged teeth scared me. I didn’t go near the thick glass in fear of my life.. I carried on walking.. Barely giving them much of my time. I was afraid. I should walk on, or even run.. But i kept Thinking.. Why am i so scared? What if i’m missing out on something amazing just because i’m fearful? So i left my friends, and went back. Fear can’t rule me. I walked slowly up to the shark tank. And looked at the shark.. And walked with it, as it swam around the circular tank. Thinking.. I said.. Hey shark.. I’m sorry your trapped here.. And i told the shark, i’m sorry people don’t even give him much time of day, and if they do, its out of fear. I told him i’m not afraid of him, and i love him. I told its not his fault, its his nature to prey..he has not choice. Suddenly, i wasn’t so afraid anymore.. In fact i wasn’t afraid at all. What was amazing.. Was the shark was respondin, in a non-flesh-eating way.. :) He was swimming slower to my pace.. Nudging his face against the glass such that my hand ly upon his cheek. And he looked at me as i spoke to him through my thoughts. I was amazed. Everyone was scared of this creature, just because he was made to look terrifying. As much as it is his instinct to crush, its only for consumption. What if you provide it with food? Is this shark really a monster then? I think not. Humans don’t even kill out of survival, most of them kill out of hatred. So are the sharks really savages? Or are we? I found myself in an outstanding position with my new friend, and i feel that for a moment, our souls spoke. With all these thoughts flowing through my head.. He gave me strength, and thought me alot about myself. Because its in each other, that we see ourselves. I shouldn’t fear everything, because you see, if i had let my fear take over me, i’d never experienced him. As crazy as it may sound, i love that shark. And i think he felt really loved on some level for the first time in his life. Who ever reads this, never let fear get in the way of what you want. As much as life is scary at time, have some courage, and face it, because nothing is really as scary as you make it out to be. And besides, you’l never really experience life to the full extent if you live in fear.. And that, you may regret one day. Hope you enjoyed my story paulo.. Lol.. :)
Thank you for being.
Yajna
Dear Paulo,
Another such a wise thought came from you freely directly to us!Sometimes I wonder what the strenght of the words is ,that then it is transformed to .If all of us could think like the old blackbird for the best of all ,our world would be better .It is just wonderful.Thank you for sharing with us.
Love,
Chrissa
hi, I been verbally sword fighting all day, see, that viking warrior lost his sword (hubby) I just threatened to bring it back on a plate if he didn’t go and buy me some ciggies….that’s what it’s like, there’s a million too many warriors in my 2bed house…hope you all had a fun wkend off!! – don’t loose your head.
Loves
Dear Paulo Coelho you always make us see the things from another point of view….Thans for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dear Paulo,
our thoughts,your writings,your quips are really thought provoking.They help one to change one’s perspective towards life.They have helped me very much in my life and whenever I am upset I go thru your books and articles to calm me down.My greatest dream is to meet you at least once in my lifetime.Please keep the words flowing and keep on inspiring me and others like me.THANK YOU SIR!!!
Dearest Paulo,
i loved this story. It is wise and true. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the greater good in life.. Even if that means you need to go hungry for a night or two.. That is a wise old bird. I love him. If i do say, i’d like to name him charlie :) (for some odd reason, it was the first name that came to mind.)
Thank you for being.
Yajna
Hello to All,
Then, as I hung the washing on the line my child piped up something about the blackbird who just ate a dragonfly….and I said, ah, but what does it have to do with this squashed spider who appears to have been carrying this grain of wheat/oat??
God alone knows, has never been a preferable response to me…
Then we go to study the ‘faerie shrimps’ in the pond, who indeed did ‘come down in the last shower’ – we are waiting to find out what they will feed on..in their ‘chance’ crash landing into our pond…they have a choice, latch onto a goldfish and feed for life, not being in control of their path…water weeds, which they do like to hide in…or tiny wiggly snakey things, which was our previous bet…mosquito larvae….but it seems we may have been wrong, because that would involve a fight of equal strength/size, all just to eat your opponent….nah,the question is then
Did the dragonfly lay eggs in the pond, and who is not going to eat them?
Dogs and crumbs, and other parables – gotta go, my dinner’s ready..Thanks all. God bless. X
Paulo I have to say, when I read this I was like “huh?” Immediate victories and lasting conquests…”huh?” Again.
The quote about builders and gardeners though, struck me like a stick strikes a gong in a temple. It makes a deep sound (drives away all those love melodies). A gardener has loads of patience. I guess patience needs be cultivated.
Seriously though, sometimes life needs a battle or two. It gets a little boring otherwise and people start vegetating.
Enjoy your site a lot; thanks for maintaining.