Today’s Question by Aart Hilal

by Paulo Coelho on June 27, 2008

In your books you are proving, that you have great feeling for contemporary human and his distresses. What do you think in what direction is going the future man? Will he be capable to survive and save his integrity, creativeness and intellect, and above all mental health?

It’s always very tricky to talk about “mental health”: I’ve been committed as a teenager to a clinic institution. I felt in my own skin the burden of being cataloged as “mentally disturbed” just because i didn’t fit into the social norms.
In my wanderings I came to believe that a person has a personal legend to fulfill. What is a personal legend? It is the reason why we are alive. In my case this legend was to share my ideas with others through writing.
We have dreams, that are not necessarily the dreams that our parents or society had for us. So, we must get rid of the idea of fulfilling what people expect us to do, and start to do what we expect from our lives. The message in “Veronika decides to die” is that: dare to be different. You are unique, and you have to accept you as you are, instead of trying to repeat other people’s destinies or patterns. Insanity is to behave like someone that you are not. Normality is the capacity to express your feelings. From the moment that you don’t fear to share your heart, you are a free person.

Previous post:

Next post:

{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

Love July 3, 2008 at 2:51 pm

Thanks for your words …

You will like it! I´m sure.

Love.

Reply

Love July 2, 2008 at 4:09 pm

Dear Annie,

Did you read “Le Petit Prince”?

I think you will like it.

I can remember so clearly the first time I read it. It was like a revelation or something like that.

Like “The Alquemist” or the other books I read in that time.

It´s so good to be able to read in that way, like a child.

To be honest, I Really thought that some characters, like Melquisedec for instance, did really exists … and I mean without metaphors …

Ça cèst drôle! …

It was a sweet way to read. It was very naive, but I am glad to have experienced that even being a grown up.

Now it is not the same. No matter how many times I may read “The Alchemist” again, for instance. Nothing can ever compares with the first time I read it. I was still in the “other” world. I was just arrived to this one. I was a new born in this world with twenty three years old. It was a strange time in my Life when I was still like an angel.

Now I have learnt a bit more to live between humans :).

It´s also very good, no doubt.

That girl is still with me, smiling.

After that brief period of Light, she had to go to the abyss, but she is ok after all.

She is very nice, I just Hope She could be patient enough to stay close to me.

I´ll do my best.

Love,
Love.

Reply

THELMA June 29, 2008 at 4:55 pm

My dearest Annie, The message I sent you is on:Previous Editions,you click 13th June and then VIDEO: my views on internet etc. then 7 responses and it is there.[I was late in answering to you...] As you know, unfortunately, in order to survive and live a decent life we need money. You must feel grateful[as I feel the same for my parents] because I am sure her concern is for you to be able to have a decent job and stand on your own feet.. After I left dreams and Vienna, I went to England for a year and had a …secretarial course!! You may wonder, what on earth, would this be of need to an artist?? But this ‘practical’knowledge has helped me in different circumastances..{After all I had the highest speed in type-writing} The languages have helped me communicate with people and, I believe, everything we experience has an immediate result on our SOUL, AURA and MIND, that I am sure will be reflected on whatever you do. PAULO COELHO is our ..guiding star! You are a beautiful soul. Thank you for your kind words. LOVE from Cyprus!!!THELMA

Reply

Love June 29, 2008 at 12:10 am

Sorry, I shouldn´t have written that.

I was talking based on my own experience and, though I wanted to say that, is incomplete because I would like to add much more things.

Probably your mother wants to ‘protect’ you. But, again, there are a lot of things to say about the way in which some people ‘protect’ others. If you Love your dream, focus on your Love and, everytime Evil (using your poor mother) try to upset you or whatever, think on the Love you feel for your music and the Enemy will have nothing to do. Even you will smile at and embrace your mother. When you are feeling the Joy of your music or whatever it is you Love, in a natural way you will think only in your Love; and the darkness in your mother (her own fears and doubts) will have no room in your Life.

A smile for you :).

May God bless you,
Love.

Reply

Love June 28, 2008 at 1:08 pm

Dear Annie,

I have read your message.

I´m trying to find the words to express what I would like to tell you,

Justice.

Be strong. Do it for Justice.

I have been in the Hell because I was not strong enough to keep myself Alive when the Enemy (also through ‘my mother’) decided to take me (and my child) to her kingdom of darkness.

Now … my child and myself … we both have suffered because of my stupid failure …

We have paid more than enough.

My ‘mother’ knew very well how to destroy my Light and she did it. She uses guilt as her best weapon.

When I was Blessed with the Paradise a few years ago (It was so Bright, so Bright) she told me that she was suffering because of my fault, as usual.

So I thought she was true; I thought she was suffering because of my fault and I decided to punish myself leaving the Paradise.

And, of course, my child and the woman within me had to come to Hell with me. (Only those who have experienced Hell may know what I am talking about).

So big was the influence of ‘my mother’ by that time …

Evil has been using her for a long time to keep me far from the Paradise.

And you know Annie, my child has suffered cruelly (still suffering) because of my horrible fault.

I should have been Wiser and Stronger.

It is not fair that the helpess girl within me and my child suffer because of the capriciousness of Evil (through`’my mother’.

I am remembering this next time the opportunity to Live in the Paradise come.

I wish you well.

I wish you sense of Justice and Respect toward You (You are much more worthy of respect than the capriciousness of ‘your mother’).

No permitas que te aparten de tu sueño. Tu eres mucho más importante que los caprichos que el Diablo (utilizando a ‘tu madre’ o a cualquier otra persona) pueda tener, te aparten de tu Corazón.

Your Heart is Sacred, my friend. And you have your little child within you waiting for your protection. If you leave your child alone and completely helpess, be sure that Evil (using ‘your mother’) will kill Him/Her using the most horrible and cruel way.

Que la Diosa te Proteja,

Love.

Reply

THELMA June 28, 2008 at 11:07 am

Dear Anne, I have a message for you on the Daily Archive fór the 13th JUNE, that I believe will answer to your today’s message..The only thing, that I have to add today, is that whatever you learn will be your soul’s treasure and your ‘dowry’ for this life. Computer engineering may sound dull for you now, but the channels that will be opened to your thinking will make you a better artist too..Think of the possibilities that computers will offer you, even in composing, writing,listening, put pictures into your sounds etc. and at the end the advantages will seem more than the disadvantages.Life will wait for you even if you feel so miserable now, until you graduate from your course..Love, Thelma

Reply

Tania June 28, 2008 at 3:49 am

Why is that so many people -family/friends think that when a person wishes to express what is in their soul or live out their legend-mission here, that they have gone mad or lost the plot ,maybe even having a mid life crisis ..people do not understand that by doing what you love makes you happy -content ,passionate and joyful ..they want to be killjoys and find it hard to take in “why” you would leave something so safe and secure to be a free spirit -spread your wings and fly the bird – not in a cage ..having partners or spouses resent you for your artistic nature or dreams kills a relationship , people would rather have you normal and working 9-5 living the same day over and over again -no wonder so many women loose themselves in marriages /children and life…they get buried in bills/school/work /house /and how important it is to have everything ..WT ! I for one made sure that my spiritual journey was living and breathing in my lifestyle so it was only to live by my own light. Be authentic, an in order to do that you have to keep meeting it and living it -no matter how hard it is – do not belittle it or speak harsh of it ,there is a saying that it looks poorest when you are richest ~ Henry David Thoreau says -” The fault finder will find faults even in paradise .”Love your life -poor as it is .You may perhaps have some pleasant ,thrilling ,glorious hours ,even in a poor house “.The sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich mans abode;the snow melts before its door as early in the spring .Love Tania

Reply

Osbaldo Gutierrez -Los Angeles June 27, 2008 at 9:59 pm

Hola Paulo,

Que cierto! Soy un trabajador social y trabajo en salud mental, con criminales que han salido ala comunidad. Mi trabajo es dar terapia con mis clientes que estan clasificado ‘enfermo de la mente’. Las escrituras que usted ha escrito, aveces le ha dado mis clientes. Porque, la mayoria del tiempo ellos estan sufriendo por ansiedad, temor al futuro, o otras rasones. Gracias por sus palabras tan hermosas, y calma que nos dan.
Ciao!

Reply

THELMA June 27, 2008 at 3:19 pm

A few years ago ‘mental illness’ was a stigma and a taboo. The progress in medicine, diagnosis and pharmacology has freed humanity from this prejudice and removed the ‘stigma’from those people. To speak freely about this theme, was the first step for understanding. I believe that the boundaries, that divide sane from insane, have changed. Science and chemistry have explained and healed ‘madnes’. Progress, evolution and knowledge is the solution and leads to Wisdom. The necessary step is to try to achieve full harmony of MIND, SOUL and BODY and free ourselves from fear and express ourselves through love and respect and find, as you Paulo Coelho say, our personal legend.LOVE, Thelma

Reply

WENDY ESPINOZA June 27, 2008 at 2:09 pm

yesterday i went to see an exibition
of Camille claudell at the rodin museum in paris.
she was one of the most amazing sculptress of her time
extremely talented. at the very young age of 20 she came to paris to study at Rodin studio. she fell in love with Rodin. they had a secret relationship because he was married. she was a very passionate woman and you could see that in her work.sadly he abandoned her. and because of that she went beyond her emotions she did things considered “abnormal” but no, she was just in love and heart broken. she wasn’t embarrassed to show her feeling and to cry for her lost love. because of this her mother sent her to a mental institution where she spent 40 year of her life until her death. i think it is a very sad story
her life and talent was wasted just because she wasn’t afraid to show what she really felt

Reply

Leave a Comment

{ 1 trackback }

Previous post:

Next post: