Paulo Coelho’s Blog

27 Responses to “Quote of the Day”

• Annie

  May 25, 2009 at 7:47 am

  It seems to me that we have invented too many things that are wrong for us… in Greece we say : “σκαψαμε το λακο μας”, which means that we digged our own ..grave..

  Love and Graditude
  Annie

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• orly

  January 8, 2009 at 12:37 pm

  I believe that to be selfish is the result of other caracters in people!!!!! some people r selfish as a self defence, others for need of beeing all for themselves and nothing but for themseles, and thats y in our society we have from all kinds, the ones who know the sharing and the opposite of selfishness r much more sensitives for other’s feelings, and they accept others in the way of love and caring,
  I believe we can learn the ways in life, and by the way i felt so much Brida when I read the book, she is ssso much me and ,,,,

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• Jiru

  January 8, 2009 at 10:08 am

  I could not recall the exact passage from Brida, so I schemed the book and I was able to locate the passage on page 30 (hard back/english version). It’s the section of the book where Brida first meets Wicca and they begin speaking of soul mates.

  The book refers to meeting our soul mates once (or more) in an incarnation, and that sometimes we fail to “accept” or “notice” them. If one fails to accept their soul mate then one has neglected their path. They have blinded themselves and can no longer accept the signs that guide their path. If we do not notice our soulmate then our focus is fixated on the distance future, and we fail to realize what is directly in front of us. Not only do we cheat ourselves from spiritual growth we cheat our mates; and that is the loneliness that consumes and condemns us to suffering.

  After reading the passage I believe that loneliness is a manifestation of being selfish. Not just selfishness to others but ourselves as well. Anytime we concentrate or strive toward outcomes or situations that satisfy the individual and not the masses, we then become an instrument of detachment toward humanity. Instead of exchanging our personal talents, skills, and knowledge, we trade it for personal gain. This gain can only be enjoyed in solitary. One can seek their personal path but one must realize that the outcome must serve the whole. Anytime we fail to accomplish this we not only cheat ourselves but humanity as well…so spread the love!

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• Sefer JAN

  January 8, 2009 at 9:12 am

  Satan expressed his selfishness, he expressed his hate, he denied to love the beloved creation of God, that is why he was driven away from Heaven, that is how he and his followers embraced loneliness and sufferings.

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• Sefer JAN

  January 8, 2009 at 9:04 am

  Sido, you say “open your heart”.

  Maybe this is the door we have to open with the key of love. When we open our heart and get ready to love every creation (as Thelma mentioned), we will realize that we were/are not alone.

  You also say that we have to “wait for lock to appear”.

  I think we don’t need to wait because we have the problem and know the solution. Yes with patience we have to get ready to open our heart and with patience we have to give love, but we should not wait, we have to act now.

  Love and be beloved ;-)

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• THELMA

  January 8, 2009 at 7:10 am

  My dear all and Sido and Pandora, when I speek about the … end of the path I speak on ..Earthly terms, the three dimensional world. But if by knowing the Truth, we can/have transcend[ed] our human boundaries [time and space] then our Soul, inner Bright self, which is all Love, we are … already THERE. The ‘here’ and ‘there’ is One. It is a matter of perception. It is the ETERNAL NOW.
  LOVE,
  Thelma

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• Stacey

  January 8, 2009 at 7:03 am

  Most of the time, people become lonely because they are selfish in the sense that they heavily guard their heart. Since they hide their heart away from the world, it is difficult to give and receive love. Thus, they don’t experience true connection with anyone.

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• Rose

  January 8, 2009 at 6:41 am

  I don’t have the book (Brida) at hand, but doesn’t this quote in the context of the book refer to the people who run away from love, who fail or are afraid to recognize a soulmate? It’s an extreme selfish act to run away and choose safety and fear above love, bereaving ‘the other’ from LOVE as well. You could say nobody would do that on purpose, but I firmly believe that people instinctively know it to be wrong, but it’s fear and a rational mind which guide them. You even could consider dismissing this kind of love as a sin. God will immediately forgive, but will one be able to forgive themselves?

  I often wondered about that quote.
  To tell you the truth, I was even somewhat irritated by it.
  Because what about the one who gets left behind? They experience a sense of unparalleled abandonment, of loss - amongst many other emotions and severe heartbreak -

  I somehow believe you suffer more if you’re the person aware, then if you’re a runner, unaware or afraid of your heart and soul - and thus unaware of GREAT LOVE. They would not even know they’re lonely to begin with.
  But it’s a complicated form of loneliness. The kind of one which eventually creeps up on you. I see it as a spiritual loneliness. It doesn’t depend on the amount of people you see and speak with every day. Indeed, you could be in a crowd and still feel utterly and completely alone.

  So ARE there different types of loneliness?

  I have to think about that one…And thank you for making me think about it. :-)

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• Tiberio Murcia Godoy

  January 8, 2009 at 12:21 am

  Fabuloso

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• sido

  January 7, 2009 at 11:58 pm

  THELMA ,

  alors si nous connaissons le verrouillage : aimer différemment la nature , les fleurs , les oiseaux , les enfants et les autres êtres humains ET VOUS VERREZ APPARAITRE DEVANT VOS YEUX LA SERRURE

  = aimer , utiliser l’intuition plus que la raison , ouvrez votre coeur , laissez vous devenir petit devant le beau , et vous verrez ce que vous n’avez jamais vu Et vous entendrez les mots que l’on ne peut entendre

  et ce jour là JE SERAI

  Then if we know the locking: to like differently the nature, the flowers, the birds, the children and the other human beings AND YOU WILL SEE APPEARING IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES THE LOCK

  = Like, use the intuition more than the reason, open your heart, let become you small in front of the beautiful, and you will see what you have never seen And you will hear the words which we cannot hear

  And this day there I SHALL BE

  LOVE ALL , LOVE AGAIN AND AGAIN , LOVE AND LIFE

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• Alexandra

  January 7, 2009 at 9:33 pm

  I dont know.I saw many good people being quite lonely ,most old people.And many selfish people with lot of friends,more mates…I think is not a criteria ,a person is alone= selfish.Or maybe is not alone because God is near to its heart?In that way I agree.
  I am against selfishness,thats for sure.Even if during my life I had pretty bad “rewards”,from person that I have helped.But most were good,so I enjoyed the happiness that I brought in their faces even if for a short period.Now I dont want to boast,I am so far of being perfect.I would like to help more people,but sometimes I am not able,no resources.My heart is breaking than,I suffer.I must remember I am only a human being,with limits.Still,I noticed that if I want to help others,I have goals,I am motivated,so is a challenge.A reason to move further,to be the best,to be in shape.

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• Adina

  January 7, 2009 at 8:58 pm

  I love your words, Thelma. Just great!

  When we care too much about ourselves, we do not have time or eyes to care about other people around us, therefore people let us alone to “keep carrying about ourselves”. It’s like a message from the society: “if you love yourself so much, then….live with yourself, you don’t need us. We do not exist for you. Goodbye to you too!”

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• luce

  January 7, 2009 at 8:34 pm

  Dear Paulo,

  I agree with you.

  Certainly seed of loneliness lies in selfishness and selfishness is highway to loneliness.

  Luce

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• T.K.

  January 7, 2009 at 8:20 pm

  I never viewed lonliness as a result of selfishness. But it makes sense. There is always someone or something or even some place that you can give of yourself. I think loneliness is a state of mind. You can be lonely but not alone. In a crowded room and still feel alone.

  In a house with family and feel lonely.

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• Popi

  January 7, 2009 at 8:15 pm

  So very true…selfishness simply kills love.

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• sabrina

  January 7, 2009 at 8:04 pm

  dobbiamo uscire dalla nostra ‘piccola’ Ego ….bellissimo,ma da dove si parte x arrivarci!ciaooooooooooo

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• Pandora

  January 7, 2009 at 7:58 pm

  If you did not have loneliness, you wouldn’t search for the Key. It is not meant to last for eternity, but enough to teach.

  God is Love and Love is everywhere, how can you ever feel alone once you have felt True Love? That for me, would be impossible.

  I agree Thelma, our aim to return to the Light, but as I am here I am making the most of it, so many different shades and colours, textures, scents and sounds not forgetting Love of course.

  (and Mr Coelho’s Blog)!

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• THELMA

  January 7, 2009 at 7:18 pm

  Dear friend Sido, the … lock is always there. It is Nature, flowers, birds, children and other human beings.

  Now, I have just remembered a book for children I bought for my daughter before she could even … read and my father was teasing me for my … optimism. The title was ‘The key that opens all doors’ and it was about being kind, polite and loving.
  Love,
  Thelma

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• sido

  January 7, 2009 at 6:52 pm

  Thelma , Sefer Jan

  et si j’ai la clé , il me faut attendre que la serrure apparaisse

  patience , amour , intemporalité , devenir
  ( un temps d’attente pour se préparer : se préparer à changer pour changer les choses , donner et Recevoir )

  And if I have the key, it is necessary to me to wait that the lock appears

  Patience, love, timelessness, future

  ( A waiting time to get ready: get ready to change to change things, look and Receive)

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• sido

  January 7, 2009 at 6:43 pm

  paul de l’autriche ,

  you are not alone . we love you ;-)

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• THELMA

  January 7, 2009 at 6:04 pm

  Yes my dear … friend Sefer JAN, as Khalil Gibran said, our lesson and ..key to Paradise is only… Love.
  LOVE,
  Thelma

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• Sefer JAN

  January 7, 2009 at 3:28 pm

  Thelma wrote that “we lost paradise”. Her words reminded me a quote of Khalil Gibran:

  “Paradise is there,
  behind that door,
  in the next room;
  but I have lost the key.
  Perhaps I have only mislaid it.”

  I think tha “the key” mentioned in the words of Gibran is universal love. Loneliness is something that makes human feel empty, live without aim and love.

  Many great people lived their lives lonely, but this does not mean they were alone. They had aims, destinies, some great dreams to serve to all people of the world. They were not selfish, they were not alone.

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• THELMA

  January 7, 2009 at 1:58 pm

  I do not think that ‘loneliness’ was invented by us. It is the state that we experience from the moment that we incarnate, the minute that we lost Paradise. We have entered the Worlds of … separatness, have dressed in …. human garments and become the lonely creatures with the five senses as our weapons.
  We are on our way back to our … HOME and the only way to reduce the feeling of loneliness is by expanding our senses. To achieve that we must come out of our ’small’ Ego and through Light and Love become One. It is the return of the Prodigy Son, The end of the journey, the isolation, the exile and loneliness.
  LOVE,
  Thelma

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• Paul from Austria

  January 7, 2009 at 1:45 pm

  … and we have to sleep in the bed we make dear Annie… and our cry into the forest… will return with the answer we truly deserve… Selfishness lives next to loneliness… a fate worse than death itself

  Love, & share, Paul

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• sido

  January 7, 2009 at 1:20 pm

  si trop de place pour le ” je ” , le “tu ” ne peut exister … et l’équilibre bascule et finalement l’existence du ” je ” en sera tôt ou tard compromise ( même si cela n’est pas immédiat dans le temps , cela sera )

  l’équilibre de l’harmonie doit être maintenue

  sinon la solitude du “je ” anéantira les bénéfices du ” nous ” , du “nous ensemble ” ….et aussi ce qui entoure et protège le ” je ”

  If too much place for the ” I “, the ” you” cannot exist and the balance falls over and finally the existence of the “I” will be compromised sooner or later (even if it is not immediate in the time, it will be)

  The balance of the harmony must be maintained

  Otherwise the solitude of the “I” will annihilate the profits of “we”, of ” we together ” …and also what surrounds and protects the “I”

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• sido

  January 7, 2009 at 1:13 pm

  si trop de place pour le “je” = pas assez de place pour le “tu” : dans un verre il faut le contenant et le contenu pour que les 2 trouvent leur véritable existence

  If too much placefor the “I” = not enough place for the “you”: in a glass it is necessary the packaging and the contents so that 2 find the real existence

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• Annie

  January 7, 2009 at 1:06 pm

  It seems to me that we have invented too many things that are wrong for us… in Greece we say : “σκαψαμε το λακο μας”, which means that we digged our own ..grave..

  Love and Graditude
  Annie

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