By Paulo Coelho
Lynell Waterman tells the story of the blacksmith who decided to give up his youthful excesses and consecrate his soul to God. For many years, he worked hard and performed many acts of charity; yet despite all his devotion, nothing seemed to go right in his life. On the contrary, problems and debts merely seemed to mount up.
One afternoon, a friend was visiting him and, taking pity on the blacksmith’s sorry situation, he said:
‘It really is very strange that as soon as you decided to become a God-fearing man, your life should immediately have taken such a turn for the worse. I wouldn’t want to weaken your faith, but, despite your firm belief in the spiritual world, nothing in your life has improved.’
The blacksmith did not reply at once; he had often thought the same thing himself, unable to understand what was happening in his life.
He wanted to give his friend an answer, however, and so he began to talk and ended up finding the explanation he was seeking. This is what the blacksmith said:
‘The unworked steel arrives in my workshop and I have to make swords out of it. Do you know how that is done? First, I heat the metal until it is red-hot, then I beat it mercilessly with my heaviest hammer until the metal takes on the form I need. Then I plunge it into a bucket of cold water and the whole workshop is filled with the roar of steam, while the metal sizzles and crackles in response to the sudden change in temperature. I have to keep repeating that process until the sword is perfect: once is not enough.’
The blacksmith paused for a long time, lit a cigarette, then went on:
‘Sometimes the steel I get simply can’t withstand such treatment. The heat, the hammer blows, the cold water cause it to crack. And I know that I will never be able to make it into a good sword blade. Then I throw it on the pile of scrap metal that you saw at the entrance to the workshop.’
Another long pause, then the blacksmith concluded:
‘I know that God is putting me through the fire of afflictions. I have accepted the blows that life deals out to me, and sometimes I feel as cold and indifferent as the water that inflicts such pain on the steel. But my one prayer is this: Please, God, do not give up until I have taken on the shape that You wish for me. Do this by whatever means You think best, for as long as You like, but never ever throw me on the scrap heap of souls.’
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God Helps those who help themselves… Be prepared to do the work in life after being rewarded by life…example, winning the lottery is not for one selfishness but to help a greater whole. i think of this as part of god’s teachings.
ya that is what everyone keeps on telling ? but I wonder why could it not be the otherway round. if u go towards god u'r life takes a turn for the better. One anyway will have to accept whatever life offers, blows and bouquets, whatever. is there any other way. even when one must accept what life has to offer, is it not our duty and right to change what life offers us.
beautiful.
because eventually the temptation to ’spoil’ that notebook will get us all….or something sober like that….
beautiful.
love you all
mother, oh mother, why have we become so blind to your love, your soul,
so serene leaves falling to the ground having fulfilled their purpose,
its this industrial revolution that boggles me, whats this so called revolution? where does it progress,
now nuclear is safe they say,but how so I believe them after all these big blunders that i perceive everyday around me.
bo0om paulo
lol
A child often leaves his favorite notebooks empty. “Too beautiful,” he says. “I might destroy it if I leave a note there, and then I might need to throw it away.”
Now, depending on which “type” of mother you have, she might say, “Don’t be silly! Don’t waste this notebook.” Or she might just smile. She knows time, and what it does to wine.
I didnt like this. God is not cool.
the words appear double , flux , but I know what i say…that which is not a sword is a gate. and that which is open shall be enterable..to enter in,,..check out my log…click
love
I understand like this.
Metal cannot change its own shape. It must rely on the blacksmith to change its form and become something of purpose. As related to humankind… God is the blacksmith, we must surrender to him and trust that he knows how to shape us and change us and that the proccess will not be neccessarily pleasant but it will transform us into something of purpose.(a sword)If we do not allow ourselves to be transformed by God our spiritual purpose or destiny cannot be met. The scraps of metal are still the same material as that of the sword. But because of fear of pain or fear of letting go of the shape or way we have always been we have chosen to be spiritually disconnected from God and become part of the (scrapheap of souls.)
it took millions of years in gods furnace to create that concentration of iron ore. Remember that steel,s strengths is its impurities in carbon.
And the thought of all those swords(guns)purpose gives me the jitters.
Why do we have to destroy and later regret?
today bush was soo arrogant about other peoples democracies, he has literally made iraq a scrap pile.
sad that the americans dont recognize another Hitler amongst them.
bo0om
fLUXman
The Confession sung by Josh Groban… it’s moving. Your tears would well up if you heard it, speak it as if it were a confession to the God of your longing, Muslim, Catholic, Buddhists, Bahaii etc. alike.
Leaf, God did the same for me too… He filled me up. Brought the smiles, the sadness, the dares. Brought the love too. And the fear (which really is awe).
The scrap heap of souls… I don’t know about that one too. I imagine that God treats every creation as treasure. Every single one. His love POURS.
ya that is what everyone keeps on telling ? but I wonder why could it not be the otherway round. if u go towards god u’r life takes a turn for the better. One anyway will have to accept whatever life offers, blows and bouquets, whatever. is there any other way. even when one must accept what life has to offer, is it not our duty and right to change what life offers us.
Nice story! :-)
It reminded me of another one which sounds like this:
One day, in a church, two men with guns entered the building and said to all those who were participating in the ceremony:
‘Who is willing to accept a bullet for his faith, stay here! The rest, go outside.’
Only a handful of people remained in the chirch after that.
And the respective man said: ‘O.K., dear God, now that all the phonies are out, the ceremony may continue.’
The questions are the following: how many of us are willing to become better people, to sacrifice their daily pleasures and comfort for God? How many of us are sincere towards God, themselves or others? Do we wish to become perfect for God or are we satified with half-measures? How much do we want to endure everything without expecting anything in return just for the sake of love and of doing something good? If nobody saw that we perform a good deed, would we still do it?
Dearest Paulo,
Today’s story was so beautiful. I completely loved reading it but more importantly, it made a difference in my life. I do know of someone very close to me who’s life seemed to get worse as time time went on, despite his constant spiritual belief.. And he continues to dedicate his life to God. As much as i find it admirable, i pray for him, that his soul isn’t “thrown into a heap of souls.” i know that sometimes in life you have to reach the very bottom before you can go up, and the very journey of going to the bottom and rising, makes you who you are. Everything in life does happen for a reason, no matter how painful it may seem at the time. God never gives you something you cannot handle.. He is always there.. In everything, everywhere.
Thank you for being.
Yajna
I like this story….when I gave my soul to God, he did the same to me….everyone I think….we come out of the furnace, shine for a while, get used for our purpose in His plan, be we gold or clay pots….and when we break, or are damaged…back into the smelting pot and start over.
Also, I do not know about a scrapheap of souls….impurities in us are refined also…the steel worker finds his medium in metal, he may have bought cheap materials (a bad worker always blames his tools, as they say)……god finds it in the Ore, the raw material….and after some poor souls have spent time digging it up, the heat from that furnace is like the sun itself.
Purification.
Love to all.