By Paulo Coelho
A famous Sufi master was invited to give a course in California. The auditorium was full at 8AM - the time announced - when one of the assistants came onto the stage.
“The master is just waking up. Please be patient.”
Time passed, and people started leaving the room. At midday, the assistant returned to the stage, saying that the master would be starting the lecture the minute he finished talking to a pretty girl he had just met. Most of the remaining audience left.
At 4PM the master appeared - apparently drunk. This time, all but 6 people stormed out.
“I will teach you this,” said the master, ceasing to act drunk. “Whoever wishes to go down a long path, must learn that the first lesson is to overcome early disappointments.”
Welcome to Share with Friends - Free Texts for a Free Internet
By Paulo Coelho
Man needs to choose, not just accept his destiny.
(The Fifth Mountain)
Welcome to Share with Friends - Free Texts for a Free Internet
This is your first novel, where children appear, however a little bit indirectly. Why did you wait so long? Why children weren’t so important for your novels?
I can’t consciously explain why children never appeared in my writings before my newest book. What I can say is this: when I wrote the Witch of Portobello, I noticed, almost as a surprise, that Viorel was the first child to have such an important role. This child was necessary to the plot because Athena, being an orphan, needed to experience motherhood and thus start to heal her emotional scars. Viorel was the first step in the story of this brave woman.
The favorite lists
Dear Readers,
I’ve been checking in internet that people are fond of making lists, so I would like for you to tell us your favorite lists and also to elaborate on the elements of this.
Love
Paulo
This week’s free association comes down to from the Moon to the Sea.
The Sea is intrinsically diverse and contradictory - given that its waters may be peaceful or aggressive depending on the context.
As you know the sea in certain traditions is linked to the bearer of all life. In Greek Mythology for instance, Oceanus - or Okeanos - the Titan God, ruled over the great earth-encircling river Okeanos, the font of all the earth’s fresh-water: including rivers, wells, springs and rain-clouds. Okeanos was also the god who regulated the rising and setting of the heavenly bodies which were believed to emerge and descend into his watery realm at the ends of the earth. Okeanos’ wife was Tethys, the nurse, who was probably thought to distribute his water to the earth via subterranean caverns.
But the Sea can also be depicted as a dangerous environment. Carl Jung for instance stated that in dreams, the sea represents the unknown region of your psychic sphere, where many dangers stay hidden.
Now, you take the floor : what do you associate with the Sea?
