By Paulo Coelho
I arrive in Madrid at eight o’clock in the morning. I will only be here a few hours, so it’s not worth phoning friends and arranging to see them. I decide to go for a walk alone in my favourite places, and I end up sitting smoking a cigarette on a bench in the Retiro Park.
‘You look miles away,’ says an old man, joining me on the bench.
‘Oh, I’m here,’ I say, ‘but I’m sitting on this same bench with a painter friend of mine, Anastasio Ranchal, twelve years ago in 1986. We are both watching my wife, Christina, who has had a bit too much to drink and is trying to dance the flamenco.’
‘Enjoy your memories,’ says the old man. ‘But don’t forget that memory is like salt: the right amount brings out the flavour in food, too much ruins it. If you live in the past all the time, you’ll find yourself with no present to remember.’
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tears almost filled my eyes reading this story
for it has described perfectly my current status… i feel as if this message is meant to me
i am destroying my present and future by too much salt, the awful thing is that i am well aware of that… but i have decided - thanks to you and the Zahir - to face those memories, find my way out of the charming circle
i have decided to get rid of my zahir… through exploring my inner self, face my fears, and find my passion in life that i have lost since the zahir took over me and kept on weakening me with loads of salt (memories)
how to thank you?
i wish i know …
may the moon light shine over your paces
god bless you
It’s so impressed.
I love your writing so much.
You’re really really really great writer in the world.
I remember this massage.
I love this massage so much !!!
It’s ture:Memory is salt.
Thank you for writing this wonderful writing.
Olá Paulo! Atma Namaste, sweetheart!
Yeah, I also have the tendency to stay thinking about the good moments of my past and it’s so true that it’s like the salt, like the wise man said to you. I think that I still need to learn how to mix the good memories with more ‘present time’ in my life. :)
Thanks for sharing that message with us all!
Beijo in your heart! A happy and blessed Sunday to you and Christina!
Love & Light!
Marta :)
one more thing i wanna add
memories - Salt
always keep the wounds open
always make the one in pain
and above all … always remind the one that there is a wound
thanks for everything
Paulo, quisiera saber si para ti aun es algo especial tener esos encuentros tan extraordinarios o si ya te accoustrombraste a encontrar gente de la misma forma como tu ??
It’s true. If you live in your memories, you can’t live your present. But sometimes everybody need remember the past. :-)
Kisses from Barcelona,
Miriam
Memory is paprika.
living in the happy past make my life easier ,but i want to ask you what can i do if i havenot any nice memories?when can ilive then?????????????
phrma_star2000@yhoo.com
Tisztelt Paolo Coelho!
Az általam olvasott összes regénye híd volt az én Szerelmemhez akit 1986-ban megismertem, elfelejtettem és 2007-ben újra megtaláltam.
Salt n pepper
past and present
cooking up a good plot for the future
let the flame burn and light the way
to your heart
from mine
lovingly
Muchos Gracias! Al-hum-du-llilah!
Its true. I know there are nations who locked themselves in the past and forgot that there is a present to build.
Your so wise man Master. God bless you.
Paulo…
O tempo passa… mas a lembranca de voce nao passa. Acho que sou “louca” e no meu mundo interno esta voce sempre presente.
Gostei de tua voz desde a primeira vez, de andar em circulos pelas fontes junto com voce. Gostei desde o inicio de teu cheiro, de tua presenca intensa…
Pensei que o tempo iria acalmar a cham aque arde no peito, mas o coracao eh fornalha …
Ah Paulo…como eu gostaria de te esquecer…
Por anos eu sonho com voce…
acordo como se tivessemos percorrido o mundo todo.
Rezo…peco a deus e a deusa para nao mais te encontrar nos sonhos, aprendo a controlar os pensamentos e as emocoes, pois todos os dias afasto tua imagem de minha mente milhares de vezes…
Aprendo a aceitar o amor de quem “diz que me ama” para ver se te afasto de meu coracao
Trabalho … trabalho ate ficar bem cansada e nao pensar em nada
ah Paulo, acho que adoeci, existe em mim por todos esses anos essa memoria intensa de tua presenca.
Пауло! Merci pour votre travail et l’oeuvre! Je vous souhaite l’inspiration et d’agréables souvenirs dans l’avenir et sur le temps présent et ultérieur. :)
The past is gone, back to the nowhere it came from. Now is all that matters.
Remembering the past may be helpful, but only if you learn something that you can apply to your now.
please let us translate this page, mr webmaster
lovingly
voce percebe…
talvez um dia eu tambem serei diamante, perola. Talvez um dia eu serei o ser divino, que busca existir
tchau
mais uma coisa…
voce eh mesmo um alquimista…
obrigada por me ajudar na grande obra
Dearest Paulo,
This is a really beautiful story. I think that the key to this perfect combination is for you to grow with the experiences you’ve had, letting them become a part of you, such that you live in the moment, but how you live in that moment, is somewhat based on a past. You can’t just forget your past, you can’t run away from it, for all those experiences, be them bad or good, form who you are. At the same time, if you live in the past, you’l forget the future, you’l forget the present, and in away, you’l stop living..stop growing as a person. As much as it may seem hard at times, getting up the courage to live each day in that day to full extent is one of the greatest things you can do. Whenever i walk around, i say, if i were to die now, if a bus hit me, or if the earth were to suddenly crack open and swallow me, would i regret anything? Will i have any unfinished business? I want to be happy to die knowing i’ve done everything i could possibly want, no matter how strange, or random it may be.
Thank you for being.
Yajna
thank you for your words….I’m trying to forget my Zahir,even if I didn’t want to do it…But sometimes life is not just like we want it…
My Zahir desappeared without giving to me any reason,and I can’t sleep at night…Every day I wait for him..but I’m losing my time,because he won’t come back to me.
Keep on writing words of hope,
Martina(ROMA)
hate salt, too fussy about the balance,
i dont understand how memories can be sour,
the very fact we remember something , tells us that we needed to remember it,
deja-vu,
bo0om
fLUXman