By Paulo Coelho
A man went to trim his hair and beard. As always happens, he and the barber chatted about this and that, until – commenting on a newspaper article about street kids – the barber stated:
- As you can see, this tragedy shows that God doesn’t exist.
- How?
- Don’t you read the papers? So many people suffer, abandoned children, there’s so much crime. If God existed, there wouldn’t be so much suffering.
The customer thought for a moment, but his haircut was nearly finished, and he decided not to prolong the conversation. They returned to gentler topics, the job was done, the customer paid and left.
However, the first thing he saw was a tramp, with several days of beard, and long tangled hair. Immediately, he returned to the barber’s shop and said to the man who had served him:
- You know something? Barbers don’t exist.
- What do you mean, don’t exist? I’m here, and I’m a barber.
- They don’t exist! – insisted the man. – Because if they did, there wouldn’t be people with such longs beards and such tangled hair as I’ve just witnessed up on the corner.
- I can guarantee that barbers do exist. But that man has never come in here.
- Exactly! So, in answer to your question, God exists, too. It just so happens that people don’t go to Him. If they did, they would be more giving, and there wouldn’t be so much misery in the world.
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I know God does exist. But I do have so many questions for Him. Like the old straggly-haired tramp in Paulo’s blog. What if he did go to the barber, but the barber turned him away for not having money? The barber did exist, the tramp went to him, yet recieved nothing. It is hard to understand why so many rotten things happen and they are ‘allowed’ to happen. Like the persecution and execution of 6 million Jews. They were God’s people and begged him to stop it. I just don’t understand. This doesn’t mean I am turning my back on God, no way would I do that. I love Him beyond all measure, and will save my questions for that blessed day that I meet Him. But I can understand why many don’t believe God exists. Faith in a very hard thing to have in this life.
I had a conversation about men with long hair this morning.
How weird they looked apparently, I couldn’t see what the fuss was all about, centuries ago there were no hairdressers around or so the story goes….:)
An interesting and thoughtful analogy.
~ Mike
~ Atheist
It’s a free haircut for the tramp I hope.
:)
I dont have to search for the one and only because he’s inside me and i’m part of him.
Hi :-)
Sometimes it bothers me to think that we are superior to an ant and if God exist, it also bothers me to think that god cares more for us than for them.
Thanks for this post Paulo. I will have to share this to a few of my counselees who seem to shun away from their faith with the attempt to just end things and pass out from this struggle we call life. Hope you don’t mind if I repost this in my blog so more people will be inspired.
I think that showing compassion always come first.
Voicing an opinion is so important, as is sharing ideas and knowledge and information.
But helping those who need it, even just showing kindness, a simple smile, is worth a thousand words.
it’s just a human and a simply question,that each one had already heard..of course a lot of pains and troubles come from humans,unbelievers and believers can do things with compassion and kindness.for me,the humans rights are the good rules.this little story explain to me that we are free in our actions ,and we’re still free to look for god or not.and when someone needs god for himself,that means often he’s suffering,for me it’s not a bad thing if he looks for god as a reality.
Caroline – is that to say that no one should ever make attempt to make a point? That there should never be philosophical discussions on the unseen and the unknown? It is not about arguments but about expanding and opening the mind. This story was not about “proving points” or “forcing opinions” and whatever claims you made. Perhaps you should re-read the story. I see a lot of hostility in your comments.
Showing kindness and compassion does no more to prove the existence of any god than the discussions between the man and the barber would. If there is a god, for one reason or another he has decided not to leave us with any proof. Which is why religions rely on faith, a trust and confidence in the unknown.
This does not mean that discussing the possibilities is not valuable.
Paul from Austria
I know I can count on you – “You are in”.+ your 1/2
I have counted so far half a dozen people.
Does anybody know how long Savita is away for? She is very knowledgeable and be of great help – besides anyone who is with “Che”…gets my attention.
Adytya I think would be a good one too.
I dont have a my space, heck , you know how it is – old age and with my ship and the menagerie I am running out of “space” .
Yours in the Ark
P.S. Mood of the day ; ‘rejuvenated” indeed !
:D
I LOVE the story. I never knew how to respond when folks claim that surely God doesn’t exist because God wouldn’t allow so much suffering. It is one thing to know something clearly in your heart, but entirely different to be able to verbalize it. So, thanks for the story!
That should say “God is not about proving a point”…….and “if there is a God that you believe in, you should be proving this by showing acts of kindness and compassion, not turning your heal at the needy.” That is the real proof that God exists, acts of kindness, not winning arguments.
This is a terrible story and only highlights the fact that man is more obsessed with getting his point across and getting people to believe in whatever he believes in.
If the barber doesn’t believe in God, it’s his own choice. If someone wants to believe in Allah or Krishna or Jesus or nothing, that is his choice we should respect it.
If people spent less time trying to convince their neighbour, barber, friend, what they believed in, and actually went out and practised what they preach, the world would be a better place, and there wouldn’t be the case for this argument, because the terrible things happening in this world would not be happening.
The atrocities that are happening in our world now are not just happening because of evil people in the world, or because God is letting it happen, or because there are not enough people turning to God. It is happening because good people let it.
The only thing that man at the barbers needed to do to prove Gods existence was to show kindness to the tramp on the street. Take him to the barber and pay for him to have his hair cut, then the barber would have seen such an act of kindness, and he would have been in the position to make judgement himself.
God is not above proving a point, or making or forcing or even wishing someone to believe in what you do. Most of the wars that are happening in our world right now, are happening because of this. If there is a god, surely it is about showing love, compassion and kindness.
i’m agree with the idea that the religions are also a political power,and in each religion we can see that.does it mean that jesus,mahomet,bouddha,shiva ect…their speeches were wrong?or does it mean that we have the freedom to use their speeches to do wrong things?why also the idea of ’satan’,for me that means that when we do the worst,it’s easier to say for us,’satan’pushed us,like that we put our guilt on anotherone and we can’t understand really why we did the worst.
‘Doubting God’s existence’.
Since we are in the world of the phonomena, but also have an Eternal Spirit, Soul of the Eternal world, we cannot decide of the existence of God with the ‘tools’of the three-dimensional world. We cannot judge God’s decisions with our material minds-logic. Since we live in the limited space-time body, we cannot even touch with our fantasy His Will!
Looking around and ’seeing’ us, human beings so ‘cut our from Paradize’ and sensing the potentials of the Heart, the Fire, Love, we do not have any other choice than believing in the Divine. It is
not a hopeful desire, for shelter or ‘explaining the unexplained’ but for me it is the full acceptance of His existence and complete yield, surrender to His Will. I know that we are all One in the Divine Plan.
LOVE,
THELMA
Thelma, that was a good point of view.
Antonio
He is my mother and daughter too…
X
My own experience has taught me that God does exist. When you look at your life more carefully, you will see a grand design and you’ll be amazed at how you have survived all those trials that came your way. You are not alone in your journey. God bless!
Being God’s existence is “all giving love”.
God is not a concept for me,…he is my father, son and holy spirit.
Amen.
Blessings
Hildegarde
X
I do believe in God… and I largely agree with Mike… but Shakespeare… dear Hairdresser’s talk… was an object of someone’s fantasy… perhaps? ;)
By believing in yourself, your destiny and your dream… you are affirming your belief in God…
Love, Paul
Someone siad, “Love is the face the Unknown wears.”
I have come to the opinion that love is not blind, love is truly seeing.
Elsewhere it says that “God is love.”
I believe love is the binding force of the universe.
I’ve stopped considering whether or not God exists. I place my life and my will in God’s hands nevertheless and my experience is that, after all, I am cared for. That evidence, through all things, is the foundation of my faith, belief, trust and hope.
As to God withing me, I have come to recognize there is an infinity within me beyond my comprehension which I now seek to attune to the infinite outside of me.
Strangely enough, God seems to busy to try to prove God’s existence to us so why do we expend so much effort to do it for God?
Stevie Wonder once sang about how far we had gone that it makes it hard for God to follow.
I don’t think the question is whether or not God is on our side but if we are on God’s side.
I believe that those who seek God will find God. If no one is looking, does God stop being? Well, every day has a dawn, and a night as well.
Linda história…
Realmente, a responsabilidade de cuidar do nosso mundo e de cada pessoa que aqui está é simplesmente nossa. A força Divina está em nós justamente para isso.
Nós somos o mundo. Nossos pensamentos e ações fazem esse Planeta girar, no sentido que desejarmos. Por isso, pensar e agir com amor é o que tento fazer todos os dias. Por mais simples que seja uma ação feita com amor, por mais singela que aparente ser, ela pode mudar o dia de alguém e fazer milagres. Um abraço, uma palavra de carinho ou de conforto, um elogio, às vezes é tudo o que as pessoas querem ouvir.
Vamos fazer da campanha do abraço a nossa rotina! Free hugs for everybody!
This story reminds me of something I have learned directly from your books, Paulo. “God enters wherever he is allowed.” I think the barber is the one who wouldn’t allow God to enter, and that is why he denied his existence.
The last topic at the hairdresser’s salon was on ” the 6degrees of separation”
Ask for Fabrice he can enthralled you for hours on end.
Ah it’s good to see that Shakespeare, Moliere, Cyrano live just around the corner. They are humans like you and I after all.
God bless them.
In general I recommend Richard Dawkins’ “The God Delusion”.
For me I find that although there are many good people who practice religion and believe in god, the whole concept of believing in god is, I think, fundamentally dangerous for mankind. That may not have been the case in the past… perhaps religions have been necessary even for social and organisational progress and evolution. But I have no doubt whatsoever that today, religion and belief in god are dangerous for the long term survival and development of the human race.
They are dangerous because of the conclusions they allow people to reach on the basis of their faith alone. They are dangerous because of the influence religions carry and the political power they wield, and because of the people that are attracted to that power. They are dangerous because of the earnest fervour and extreme interpretations they attract and enable.
There is indeed a lively struggle going on between a kind of ‘good’ and a kind of ‘evil’… where the ‘evil’ is the replacement of open education and curiosity for the world and universe with instead indoctrination in the writings of religions, not for the purpose of understanding history but instead so that people become “followers”.
I am hopeful that the people with strong and sound minds who find themselves believing in god, can also conclude that religions wielding political power will always do so to the detriment of people in general, and I hope these people will help to minimise the influence of organised religion throughout the world.
To all the people who talk of the god within themselves – your use of the word ‘god’ confuses discussion of a belief in god – you do not believe in the same god as a Born Again Christian or a Muslim… their god is VERY different to the concept of god you are describing… you need a new word, “god” is simply wrong there.
People have always been kind, loving and generous to each other. They have done so before organised religion, and they continue to do so without organised religion. Religion has not given us morals or ethics. You can love and be loved without there ever being a mention or reference to god or gods. You can be Bright, without having seen the light.
well i am always surprised when i hear someone who explains me,that god doesn’t exist,as if they know all of the universe,it’s funny,but i respect this idea.i don’t talk about religions of course..this is another story of our societies,thruth but power also.that’s true we have this freedom,this choice for our mind.well, i don’t understand ‘la physique quantique’,does it mean that it doesn’t exist? of course not.and it’s true love can be,so if god is love..and love is not so easy to understand.
Joanna – what you said was just beautiful, and my experience completely. Oddly, once I found God within, I starting seeing him in everyone and everything. Do you know who wrote that poem, or what the original words are? (I’m quite fluent in Afrikaans, so Dutch isn’t too much of a stretch for me). The concept of it just touched my heart, and I would love to be able to read it.
In Love and Light
yes, heart. i agree with you also. god teaches us to love everyone because nobody is better or worser. everybody make mistakes, intentional or not and the greatest gods grace is that he gives us the chance to correct them. we have to hope that people understand their mistakes ans they dont repeat them.
satanism topic is very difficult for me because i never interested on this. i brought up in deepest christian tradition and im very grateful to my parents that they showed me the purest energy.
i can only suppose, it must be terrible to live already on earth with satan as guide. we can only pray for people who decided to believe in satan.
GOD 1st!
love
Of course that God does not exist, and as several people have posted before, God is a creation of ours, a civil code.
In our image and likeness we did, but I have no doubt that these stories for very old, may have some truth.
I believe that human beings are completely magical, and that we are capable of great things for me to say that God lives in everybody, because it is always our ability to make decisions.
I am not sad that God does not exist, because every man is God.
Still gives me so angry, that in our present world not apply this moral code, and we can discover new topics, in-depth exploration of Earth and space exploration.
Love is easy, although the Bible is a good guide, only depends on us.
Well as long as we love and have hope for everyone and everything then -we can return to the womb and conscious living .Blessings Tania
I think the question of god existance needs a profound undrestading of the whole things around us.
Even if I do not like to carry a label for my beliefs, but I should say that I am agnostic,
I believe every one of us has lots of weaknesses and try to find the connections to heal our wounds. This is the reason that religion exist.
Besides all of that, every night before I go to sleep I pray that I am grateful for everything I have, it means that I believe in something, Its funny, isnt it? ..
My underestanding of one creature, a merciful creature is totlay different than what religions say,
Cheers
Thank you tinni t. for your concern. To spend time on satanism, is probably like wanting to eat of the tree of knowledge about good and evil, the Bible warns against. So, I agree with you, stay away from it. But imagine, your son or daughter was into these groups, or your father and grandfather was members of some cult, wouldn’t you keep on loving them? Is it a waist of time to love somebody, who doesn’t believe the same thing as we do?
when i felt,i saw,i heard..many ways,god, like an obviousness,not just an idea,not just a belief,not just an hope,but a reality around me,i got this sweet and strong love,peace in my soul,no doubt,no fear,no anger,even if i didn’t want,he let me see,he was there.i got many times this big love,specially during my sorrows,my pains,when i lost people forever,than i love.it’s difficult to explain what i saw,as if an angel put his finger on my mouth.sometimes i lose this great peace,because i still miss those people,and i still love them,so why this suffering when i love? love is not naïf,it’s a learning.before to look for pearls under the sea, i must to learn to swim.
When I meditate and turn off the dialogs of my ego,I feel in the center of my brest ,in my heart, God.When I look my two children Aisha and Hakim-Paolo , I feel withought to think,a heat and move in my hert,God.When I look to every bird, sky or enny being I feel again my heart,I feel God.For me is nothing to do with logic !Just with feel and love!So I can say I feel God!The Truth is that we all are part of God,we all are only his manifestations,we all feel God ,and blessom to them who consciennce that ,blessom to them who will and had conscience that!At the end, we all are included in the same Plan! the God`s Plan!
Love
Mirela(the woman in lift)
ther is an old dutch poem that says: I am a god in the depths of my thoughts. As long as you keep searching god outside of you, you can doubt his existence. When you start looking for god within yourself you you are halfway finding him/her. :-)
Joanna
ha ha.too funny story.really .it explains a complex situation in poor words,so everybody can understand the meaning.we have to act ,not only expect that things will happen.everybody must do his little part,even a barber.
God is not barbar and barbar could never become God. Comparison should be among equals. Man is considered to be Gods creation. Omnipotent,just, loving, caring, compassionate, forgiving and what not. Find one human being with these qualities. Man invented impossible qualities and when found himself unable to adopt all those qualities he invented GOD as well.
Blessed are whom believe in GOD, I am not the one and am sorry for myself.
heart! dont think about satanism. forget it! its a waste of time and energy. think about god, think about love. god is love. he loves you!
ps
on my instrument lies holy scripture and for sure not by accident!
Dear Annie, thank you for your words :-)
But I really have to thank the people that have encouraged me,
which one of them is you Paulo :-)
And ofcourse all of you here that write in this blog.
We learn a lot from each other I believe :-)
I have been afraid many times, and I still can be afraid even though thoose times not happens so often any more.
I have discovered there is no use to put the energy in fear in things that probably not is going to happen ;-)
So I now send positive thoughts to future events, thinking the result is going to be good :-)
When something not so good happens, I now choose my acts from love, or I try to, somtimes I fail ;-)
But then I ask for forgivness for my wrongdoing and learn
something from it.
God gives us many chances to show our light within :-)
Love Jessica
If we cannot find reasons to disapprove the existence of God then God exists.
God’s existence is not even falsifiable therefore His existence is beyond truth for its the only truth that exists in the Universe.
I’ve always enjoyed this story – not so much because it challenges our views on whether or not God exists or we believe in God – but because it challenges our views on whether ANYTHING exists.
Often it’s so easy to see the obvious message in a short spiritual story… “Proof of God’s existence.” But in my experience, such messages are generally not so helpful because all we are doing is attempting to replace one belief system for another.
Instead, one might consider a deeper meaning:
“What is the importance of proof in my life?”
“Where in my life do I need proof? Why?”
“Where in my life do I have faith, and therefore don’t need proof? Why?”
“What would my life be like if I never had to prove anything to anybody, including myself?”
By taking a deeper look at the lessons hidden within the story, it can begin to take on a much more personal meaning for us.
A wonderful song about spreading the light inside of you :-)
Cyndi Lauper- true colours:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbZDjnWtK1A
Love Jessica
what a wonderful wonderful story. I intend to use it in my teaching.
Dear Jessica, you are so generous…. fear is the opposite of love…and you are so giving…..
we should never be afraid to show and give love..
Love is the only way…the only possible way to allow to change to take place
The story was wonderful…everyone can have his own ideas..we are free to believe whatever we want…
I believe in Love…
that is God to me..
Love and Graditude
Annie
Thank yu so much for this little story, dear Paulho.
Again I’ll translate it in Dutch for the visitors of my homepage.
http://www.spirituelevrienden.nl
Sincere Greetings
Fran
Dear Paulo, reading your story helps me to be understanding and compassionate to those who wish to have long beards and those who do not wish to go to God. Thanks. Love, Peter.
What a wonderful story :-)
I totally agree with the customer!!!
If we try to see the light (GOD) in every person we meet,
and open our heart to them and share our love in a way or another.
We will recieve abundance back (the law of attraction)!!!
We should treat others as we want others to treat us :-)
But I also know that some days it´s a struggle, when we feel sad or angry with someone or something.
If I then try to see the other persons point of view,
I feel hope again.
They have acted from fear (unconsciously perhaps).
But if I choose to act from love back then I may teach them to see the light also :-)
Love and light Jessica
What a great illustration of the logic some unbelievers have, and to ‘prove’ it wrong. I’ve been an unbeliever myself and don’t blame anybody for not believing. Faith is a grace, a gift given from above.
One of the most difficult ethical challenges I’ve had in my life was having to certify a person as a teacher, suspecting that this person actually believe in satanism. The person did all the required tasks in the college and scored well on tests and I tutored the person to do well on thesis so on. Believing in equality I always want to be fair and offer the same education for everybody. Also, in fact I did like this person, a smart, intelligent and fun person, but when I asked why become a teacher, and he/she answered; ‘because children are so pure’, it gave me the chills. As taboo as the topic of satanism is, I didn’t discuss it with the other lecturers. Some of my co workers couldn’t stand this student, and I believe we all knew, what the person stands for…but there were no way to ‘prove’ it, as we separate private life with public education.
Anyway, I never thought I would do this, present to you a Gothic band from my home town, who got famous because they introduced a music with a very high voice female vocalist, in contrast to very deep male chanting, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oP2v05JqXU.
Do I believe Gothic followers are better or worse than anybody else? I do there is a fundamental difference in wanting, intentionally to do good, or in wanting, intentionally to do evil. Only the Lord can judge our hearts, and often people in the depth of their soul, who seem good are hating instead of loving, and people who appear to do bad things, can have a lovely heart.