You say in your book 11 Minutes that abandoning oneself to passion can be as damaging as withdrawing from it. What’s your choice then? Do you choose to remain an observer?
Love may lead us to heaven or hell, we all know. But I choose to take the risks, and fall in love. To remain an observer of life is not to live at all.
Hi everyone,
Its nice to be a part of this discussion, Like everyone here, i am a very big fan of Paulo Coelho. There is something I would like to share here but first I would like to know if my name wont appear in Googles as i am quite famous in my country. That is why i didnt put my full name here. Anyway, I have spent alot of my life alone, though i have been in love once, but things didnt end well. Not long ago, I met a guy on the internet and decided to move to his country to live with him. On the night i got to the country, he introduced me to all his friends, and from there on, i fell in love with one of hisfriends who has been in a relationship for four years with his partner. And it appears that he feels the same way for me also. Not long ago, we have been meeting for drinks and we really connect. My boyfriend traveld and would be back in a week, and i didnt even miss him, i think i have stoped loving him…and i am in love with this other person. But the circumstances surrounding our love is very complicating. If i was watching a movie and i were to judge my character i wold have hated the character…but its about how i feel, it feels so good…its what i want…i’ve always searched for ove and happiness, and now that i’ve found it, it seems like an impossible situation.
Dear Agnieszka,
I thank you for your answer.
Indeed, bad experiences… But even through them, I learnt, didn’t I?
I just don’t want to appear over-confident, but don’t you consider that the higher we arise, the more difficult we could meet someone with true loving virtues?
You’re right. I always considered myself as my first enemy, though they are also a lot outside. ;) As I’m my very best friend, and there are some in front of me, of course.
Love could be destroyed in a second, just by a word, an act, while, indeed, we couldn’t explain why. Then, we ask people to forgive them.
That’s true that sometimes we have to be careful to calm down the horse that rears inside. And also, I’ve been always wandering what is suddendly that energy, that wants to break all. For now, I could stop it very often, but it’s till there anyway… ;) At long, I’ve the secret wish it will disappear.
But maybe you were not precisely talking about that, and I’d misunderstood.
Still I consider there is a serious difference in offering our soul to the unconditionnal love, than serving a sexual appetite through a human being. Even if I know some persons could love each other for true.
Yet we are talking about the same word for love. First of all, this is a non-sense. Because it doesn’t occur at all with the same thing.
So, it could be a very important error to mix them in an anology.
I thank you for your wish. I hope so, also… Even if I could feel more and more this is not the most important thing to live.
Some could say it is a scary behaviour, I show. But I’m sure God would not teach me all She does, if I gave my whole love to a human being.
I’m totally conscious, that I maybe write those answers to comfort myself I’m alone. :)
Gratefully.
Thank you MJ. I love your words as it explains so much to me….
love Hope
Well, thanks to your words, I now know that to live life is to experience it in full circle.
I was so afraid of being hurt that I always avoided Love, but now I’m learning to open up.
Thank you once again, Paulo
=)
Dear Wanbliska,
What I think is, that everything depends on the experience we had or maybe lack of it; whether it was good or bad. When you have had bad experience with love then your reactions will be cautious,etc..same with having no experience at all, though in this case you much more prone to follow the impulse.
Life is a puzzle, so is love and so are we.
I find it so.. beyond understanding; how we react driven by emotions, so out of the ordinary, like there would be other person living inside you, and this person would be your enemy sometimes..
I guess our whole life we learn, discover, lose ourselves and find and unless you really touch or feel or taste something, you can write about it, have an idea, but you’d never know how you’d react…fascinating and..scary.
and dear Wanbliska – I wish you all the luck in finding the one..the only.
Dear MJ – interesting what you wrote, and I so..agree,
but as funny as it can be..there’s always something inside you that is both wild and shy, brave and cautious, and you know what? maybe that’s good; this way you risk…something..but not…everything..
love to you both
Agnieszka
Passion makes the world go round, love is becomes our haven…a safer place. I want to seek a deeper sense of life. I think passion is the right choice. :) I think most of the time we only know how to observe and miss out on the action. But is Maria looking for answers/adventure/passion at all the wrong places…so that at the end to only find love?
Have a nice day!
yes,that was the answer I expected from you.we must live life ,but be also aware of what happens mean while.we must not be blinded,because we are part of the eperience we live,so we have also some responsibilities.Sometimes for me is very hard to understand the difference between passion,admiration,love.Maybe I have not enough experience?
MJ,
Love is not supposed to judge. I liked the beginning, but then:
“The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing , is nothing and becomes nothing”
What a compassion…
And since risking nothing is the greatest risk, nobody is out of, so. ;)
Nice night to you.
I read this somewhere and I thought I share it with you all:
To Laugh is to Risk appearing the fool
To weep is to risk being called sentimental
To reach out to another is to risk involvement
To expose feeling is to risk showing your trueself
To place your ideas and your dreams before the crowed is to risk being called naive
To LOVE is to risk not being loved in return
To live is to risk dying
To hope is to risk despair
To try is to risk failure
BUT
risk must be taken, because the greatest risk in life is to risk nothing
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing , is nothing and becomes nothing
He may avoid suffering and sorrow
but he simply cannot learn,feel,change, grow or love
Chained by his certitude, he is a slave, he has forfeited his freedom,
ONLY THE PERSON WHO RISKS IS TRUELY FREE..
LOVE
MJ
Agnieszka,
You are right: I was just talking about myself presently. :) Maybe I did not write it so well to explain what is in my heart.
When I feel love for somebody, I did not hesitate a moment to go in! Because I could feel the energy that filled in me suddendly.
Though the scientist say it is just hormonal, I consider it was ok, but plus, it could mean I had to accept it because of spirituality.
When I met one person, that activated or unleashed that energy, I didn’t ask myself if it was heaven or hell, as it said, the issue was that I “grow up”. And I was just not wandering if it was good or bad. I just lived it! :)
But hell was disguised for awhile in heaven, and most of the guys I met, brought destruction with them, -And I’m surely not like that-, I can be rude sometimes in not accepting some things. That’s true, but i’m definitely not a monster.
Since the last one, I have three eyes more than two, in order to know who is in front of me. Because I was acting as a “blue flower” we can say in france, and it was always suffering and manipulation and… perversity.
Yet, I admit I only felt love for one person since, but I turned that love uncousciously, to make it friendly, because that person is married, and for me marriage is sacred. And what happens, that virtual love does not seem to be reciprocal. Or towards a spiritual love, which is for me a marvellous new.
Friendship is love also. Universe is also love. Now, I’m asking for my kindred spirit. :) If he does not come, I will stay alone. At last, I don’t really mind. More and more, I consider love and love…
Honestly, I am under the impression, that I was made to stay alone… Because all the persons I met and love with all my heart slackened my spirituality. Because they were persons that used the language of, without showing in acts. They all wore masks. They seemed to be wise, though they always try to make my smile down, while I was comforting them.
I know Paulo would say: “How do you know it is a misfortune?” I’d answer: I know, when I see the love I have, and the love that comes.
Some others could say, this is because I am like them. Unfortunately, this human’s law of attraction so much in fashion nowadays, is not a sure value for wanbliska, as when I love, I’m totally blind.
But: one lie and I open an eye. Two big betrayals and my love decays, verily disappears.
There are things we have to cut out from, in order to protect oneself… They are things we can’t accept.
So as an example, do I lie? It happens, but I don’t do for big ones. I’m not perfect, it happened I make little lies. But I’m correcting, and always put myself in situations I won’t have to tell lies.
So?
So now, even if I travelled through the time, I wouldn’t be more ingenuous anymore. It’s too late.
But I’m maybe wrong…
Ma tells me, that I have to be careful, cause I’m too kind with men. But suddendly it is about calculating…
She also says that the day love will come knocking at my door again, I won’t ask for so many questions. ;)
She’s maybe true, or maybe she’d like to see me married, though noone asked me to, but for french papers lol.
Ma does not know my personal legend, and for why those men came.
Nevertheless I wish a man could couple with me someday. I’m not a door… :)
Or an opening one.
Have a great day dear Agnieszka.
Yes to life….yes to love….yes to passion…..
But if love is a double edged sword….is it worth the pain?
Love Hope
Yes there is something special about taking the risks and falling in love it is a beautiful time when this is happening .
Blessings Tania
Dear Wanbliska,
Of course you can’t love no matter who, because you can’t…force love, you can’t make it happen, it…happens, period, and no matter the circumstances, no matter the reason, the person, when it comes it just…is.
And it can be like in this saint…within, pure, like agape, or…it can be crazy like fire, anyhow it is beautiful.
You know, some people fall in love just to feel “high” and…I don’t blame them, because when you’re in love, you feel like the world is spinning, you are dreaming, and everything is so…out of control, so… amazing.
And the risk, how far you’ll go, it’s always up to you. As I wrote before – what do we have to lose? Being crazy for a little while? Aren’t we little crazy sometimes anyway? When we dance, when we party? Life is too serious to make it seriously, someone said. And too crazy to not lose control once in a while.
love
Agnieszka
If one truly loves then it is hapiness not hell.True love is unconditional…You only suffer and find hell if your conditions and expections are not met…There is a big difference between I love you because I need you and I need you because I love you….
By ignoring love, pretending perhaps that passion is not there, we are not accepting the greatest gift of all. Anyway as Agnieszka said, you cannot escape passion’s clutches. Making that first move, taking the risk, is the best part, wherever it may lead us.
Love is and so is Life, passion included..;)
Love & Passion to all, Paul
We can’t love no matter who, just to say I love. And the more we know ourselves, the more we pay attention to the other to come.
Love is an alchemy, not a vogue.
And we can love the whole and live a passion alone. I think a lot of saints could tell.
Is Siddharta out of love when he’s sitting all day long for days and days?
How could people estimate the work he is keeping within..?
At least, when we are connected with intuition, we know fastly if people in front of us means heaven or hell.
With love.
true Paulo !
but there is another kind of existance where one remains an observer as well as a doer, an actor, simultaneously; something like the words of the wise man in the alchemist when he tells the boy the secreat of happiness, mainataining a two pointed awareness, of the evnirment as well as one’s goals ! similarly one can maintain a two pointed existance, that of a doer and an observer simultaneously !
What do we have to lose? life with no time?
Risking is fun,
risking is imagination on the roller coaster,
risking is curiosity being tasted,
risking is living,
besides..
God doesn’t let us flee from love anyway.
love
Agnieszka