Sometimes readers complain that I say very little about my private life in this column. I do talk a lot – mostly about my questionings in the imaginary world. They insist: “but what’s your life like?” Well, then, for a whole week I went out with a notebook and jotted down more or less what happens in seven days:
Sunday: 1] In silence, I drive the 540 kilometers from Paris to Geneva. Six hours and no important conclusion, no extraordinary revelation. Since I love my work, I swore never to think about it on Sundays, so I try to control myself.
2] Filling station: I see a very interesting collection of metal maquettes. I think about buying them all, but then I reckon that further ahead I will have excess baggage, and many of them could break on the journey. I will use the Internet to do that.
3] Bath. Nap. Dinner with a friend. She tells me that the man she is interested in just wants to make love, nothing else. I don’t know what to answer.
Monday: 1] the alarm clock goes off at 10:15, and – Plan B (those born under Virgo always have a Plan B) – the hotel telephone operator also calls the room. I am here as a member of the board of a prestigious foundation, and hesitate whether or not to wear the cowboy boots worked in red, white and black leather. I decide to put them on – certain things are tolerated in artists.
2] A quick breakfast with a friend who works in a bank. I ask what he thinks of the current crisis – and he gives a series of answers that he himself does not believe in. I show him today’s newspaper: a bankers’ conference to resolve the crisis. One of them declares that they do not really know the “financial products” they are selling. It’s great that I have my money in savings: Virgos do not run any risks in this area.
3] Lunch with the board of directors. I asked what they thought of the situation in Georgia. Nobody wanted to talk about that, but they did love my cowboy boots.
4] The meeting is very good, without any stress at all. I learn a lot. When it’s over, I place some documents on the roof of the car.
5] When I leave, all the documents fly into the middle of the street. I spend half an hour gathering everything, with cars honking their horns and cursing me. A member of the board passes by, stops further up the street and asks if I want any help. I say no, it is enough for one of us to risk his life for something so stupid.
6] Today I can telephone using the “free hands” system while I drive. I ask Mônica, my agent, to cancel Prague and Berlin (the more I travel, the less desire I have to travel). She says that we need to get together before the Frankfurt Book Fair to “get some details right”. Paris or Barcelona? Paris, she decides. I call Paula, my assistant, to ask why my blog had few comments yesterday – she explains that they changed the configuration, and have just approved a hundred comments.
7] I reach Paris at eleven o’clock at night. I expected to have a stack of things waiting for me, but there were only two packets of books to sign, and a couple of letters. But I traveled! I was in another country! I realize that I traveled a little over 24 hours.
8] Dinner. I leave the computer turned on to download “American History X”. I go to sleep about two in the morning, after reading some pages of “My year inside radical Islam”, by Daveed Gartstenstein-Ross. The book is excellent, but I can’t really get into it.
Tuesday: 1] Breakfast at 10 with coffee and milk, orange juice, bread with oil – always the same, even when I am in hotels, which is the biggest part of the year. Three Echinacea pills, a herb that is said to fortify the organism against the flu and has proved faithful to its reputation (even if there is no scientific basis for this).
2] Internet: read readers’ e-mails. Read work e-mails (my office filters the most relevant), read clippings, visit a site in Brazil and one in the United States for the news of the day. I see that it is all more or less the same business as always: permission (always given) to quote some extract of mine in books, invitations to conferences (always refused). Today I have an interview with a Finnish newspaper that is going to publish these columns. I spend an hour in front of the computer.
3] Walk non-stop for an hour – no matter where I am, I rarely miss doing this. Today I invite my assistant to join me; she has just come back from holidays in Brazil and is going to get married in October. We talk about the holidays.
4] Back to the computer. Update the blog, read an interview with the stupid actor David Thewlis, who says that his role in “Veronika decides to die” (which opens next year) was “just another two weeks of work”. This irritates me. I read the rest of the interview and see that he complains about everything he has done in his life. My irritation goes away.
5] Archery. Bath. Computer again. I ask them to check again that there is no problem with Sunday’s flight to Brazil. In principle there is none.
6] I forgot to write down where I had dinner. I watch “Welcome to Sarajevo”. I read the Herald Tribune from front to back. I pick up “My year inside radical Islam”, but don’t get beyond a few pages.
Wednesday: 1] The same as 1, 2 and 3 above, except that this time my walking companion is called Maarit, a reader whom I met in the social community Myspace. She is studying to be a nun. We talk a lot about the situation of the Catholic Church, and promise that we will keep in touch.
2] Mônica arrives. We talk from 3 in the afternoon until 2 o’clock the next morning, discussing the program for launching the new book, what I should say in Frankfurt, and where her birthday party will be held (she will be 40 in November). I suggest that she throws the party in her house in Barcelona, but she says that they have put up some scaffolding, so the view of the city is spoiled. I answer that at night all city views are alike – a bunch of lights flashing on and off. Even so, she is not convinced. She says that I must hold more interviews. We spend all this time locked inside the apartment, since Mônica simply hates to walk. Chris prepared dinner and has been asleep for some time already.
3] At 2:15 in the morning I say that I am tired, I want to sleep, but she seems as lively as if she had just woken up. And she is the one who today went through the torture chambers they call “airports”!
4] I manage to convince her to go to bed at 2:30 in the morning. We still have a whole lot of pending business to see to. No Herald Tribune today, no “My year inside radical Islam” either.
Thursday: 1] Breakfast with Mônica, my agent and friend, who spent less than a day in Paris and 10 hours talking to me (in the same place, for she hates walking, despite the beautiful autumn day). She goes off to Barcelona, and I go to the computer to check my e-mails, requests for authorization, invitations (all already duly filtered by the office). Reading the e-mails sent by my readers.
2] The idiotic part of the day is thanks to Frei Betto, a Brazilian religious man who up to a few minutes ago I considered my friend, but who is the author of a column published in a newspaper in the interior of the country, where he attacks me gratuitously – or rather, attacks everything that means “popular culture”. With the Internet, we know everything. I send an e-mail to him cutting off any bond of friendship. For the sake of precaution, I send copies to all the friends we have in common so as to be sure that it will reach him.
3] Juliette arrives to borrow a sound system I was given when I was in St. Moritz, in Switzerland. It’s for her husband’s surprise party (he’s turning 40 – everyone around me seems to be turning 40). The sound system looks like an electric toaster, but it really emits digital impulses, which allows the music to be heard with the same intensity and volume in a room filled with 200 people. I have never used it, but at least it is coming in handy for a friend.
4] Walk for an hour, as usual. Practice some archery, as usual. Write my weekly column (which you are reading right now).
5] Dinner with Chris in a Japanese restaurant. I ask for the same dish as always. I don’t know why, but whenever I go to a new restaurant and like what I eat, I end up ordering the same food the next time. Lack of imagination, I guess.
Friday: 1] Breakfast, computer, walk. Update the daily blog.
2] I take my newspaper and go for a walk in the Champ de Mars, near my apartment in Paris. I look at people getting ready for the winter: most of them are taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower or talking on the cell phone. I pass a museum (the Branly), see that there is no queue and decide to go in. An exhibit of the Indian art of several continents – I begin to imagine that there is something wrong with our civilization, for these tribes and people are capable of doing far more interesting and striking work than what we see today in the art world. But it does no good to complain or write about this – there are theses and more theses on contemporary “artistic concepts”, including a cow soaked in formol (sold for 30 million dollars) and two walls made of rusty iron (at a price of around 5 million dollars). I think that Frei Betto, in his new incarnation as an avant-garde intellectual, probably also has a thesis defending this.
3] I go back home, the bags are packed, the driver waiting, and the car heads for Charles de Gaulle airport. The flight is scheduled for 22:15, but the modern torture chambers known as “airports” demand that we be there ages before take-off.
4] Take-off at 23:50 (a one-hour delay). I am going to spend twenty days in Brazil before going to Frankfurt. But as usual I won’t go to any of the “in” restaurants, which means that soon I’ll be hearing the same old question: “when are you coming to your country?”
As far as I can understand, if you don’t go to “in” restaurants, you just don’t exist.
Hi Paulo,
I hope you are having a lovely hmmmm night…it is day for me but night for you :). I was just thinking about this “Echinacea pills, a herb that is said to fortify the organism against the flu and has proved faithful to its reputation (even if there is no scientific basis for this” as I my self have devoted large amounts of time to natural healing, including homeopathy, for my family and myself. Now I’ve been reading about the aura, I started “noticing” a halo around people one day while sitting in mass. Especially this one man who is in charge of the youth group, as I continue reading I start developing more thoughts but this is a different story. How about energy cleansing? Is this something you for yourself? Just a quick question, I am thinking about pursuing this field, which is kind of off from my current profesion.
Anyhow, I am letting you go……have a wonderful day!!!!
Love
Monica
Hi Paulo hope 2010 brings much wisdom and joy to you and your loved ones. I am interested in RAM. I would like to know whether I have the qualities needed to become a member. I have had an interesting and varied life on a spiritual level. I went to a convent and am Catholic. However there is much more which I will not tell you now as it would take too long. However, I believe that I have abilities which I could use for the benefit of others.
Please let me know.
Thank-you for writing with love and reminding the world that we are all spiritual beings and that love is what we all need.
yestorday my boyfrend give me 2 books ‘the winers stand alone’ and ‘il cammino di santiago’the version with cd.i can’t wait start redding.
I just finished reading “The Pilgrimage”. And so that led me here. You are a very interesting man. I keep thinking about breaking out of the bonds society sets upon me–young wife/mother/insurance agent. And yet, none of these things define me, or say anything about who I am as a person.
One day will be my day to be courageous enough to embark on my own pilgrimage–whatever form that may take.
Your stories are inspiring though, and take my mind to a realm it has not wandered to before.
Thank you for your contribution to our world
Hia paulo !
the more you travel the less desire u have for travel, yeah ! that is the idea ! let us see how u maintain your 1 hour walking routine when u come to mumbai, here people just overwhlem you, literally ! unless of course u decide to do your waling on a machine. and it was interesting to note that you take walking companions, please let me be that chap when you come to India ( or in worst case scenario i may even come to Brazil, but the u are hardly there, if u have no plans of comming to india ).
Marie Ann, write that book, and then write a few more, maybe 5 books in all, that is your worship.and then read them 5-6 times, revise them ( now u know why our parents used to insist so much on revise your answers, had i listned to them then, i maybe got at least 12-15 % more marks in my exams, i hate to reread anything , locate 5 publishers and send one each to them, in your part of the world, u have agents who can help you out. write those books, and stop lamenting !
recetly, i freind with whom i had broken of for some reason for past 2 years, called. about 4 years back, he wrote a book, something of practical use to business students. when it was rejected by 3 publishers, he asked me to read and offer my opinion. I read and said the book was good, keep on trying. last months his book has been accepted for publication, and it should be out in stores in about 1 month, to tell me this he had called up. Marie ann. without discipline and efforts nothing gets acomplaished, choice is yours either u drop idea of acompalishments as Diogenes did and be free or you drop your exiatnce for completing those books, after u have completed them you may regain your life, which will not be same as what you would have left !!
love
aditya
CiNTa iNDaH,
did u consider calling your bro, or even giving him a ‘missed call’.
love
aditya
Must say I feel sorry I said was not so exciting. In fact, I am grateful you shared. Will be very pleased to meet you one day, would like to have a talk. Hope is last to die…
wow. you are very “human” and “male” and ‘virgo, yes” and honest in a “good” way. thanks for sharing these days with us. i often feel, although many would say i am friendly and pretty and nice and listen well and helpful etc. that i do not fit in. i am never satisfied with daily life, or where i am and always looking into the future and judge myself by this. i love philosophy and questioning, adventure, cultures and travel and people in general- but they drain me if we get too close. i am now taking direction to learn more of this and set boundaries to be able to grow each day and embrace this rather than feel disconnected or false or angry. i rarely feel angry and this is one of the most uncomfortable feelings.. you’re someone i admire and respect and might make me intimidated if i think about it- but then you write this- i know you are an honest human with imperfections and messiness and have experienced and forgiven and learned and embraced- you have a heart of a soldier of love, of god (whichever way you see him) of people of imperfections and of courage. i learn from you every time i log on. thank you once again.
Thank you for everything
May 15. Or rather it was May 15 yesterday in this part of the world. I sent an sms to my brother, wishing him happy birthday – no reply. I guess he’s busy. My birthday is 9 days after, and I anticipate he will be busy to greet me. We’ll see.
I went over to my friend’s apartment to help pack up. She’s out of town and returning in a couple of weeks for a couple of days for 6 months. She’s recently married and her mother-in-law passed away some days ago, so the couple left the country immediately to sort out the funeral.
My best and childhood friend will be coming back just before my birthday. It makes me happy. I miss her kids. They’ll be here for two weeks.
Paulo, I saw your new book at the bookstore, but it makes me sad because I can’t purchase it just yet. I got a copy of Brida last month, and I loved it.
Since my return in January this year, I’ve not been fortunate in finding work due to the current crisis. And although my life sounded busy, it actually is the opposite. With very limited resources left, I need to re-invent myself once again.
Joyce/Sharon, lighten up. Any artist/creative person pours his/her heart and soul into anything they create, so does Paulo. It’s only natural that he’d wish for whoever plays his characters finds some sort of deeper connection. Our world has become far too judgemental and obsessed with digging their noses into other people’s lives, rather than to focus on bettering themselves and their own lives. Paulo, thank you for the refreshing view into your ‘real’ world… it showed you being human, with emotions and opinions, and the desire to feel understood and valued. It made me laugh, brightened my day and filled my heart with joy. Thank you.
I agree with Joyce that you should get over the David Thewlis thing. Just out of curiosity I went back and read the article you referred to and far from complaining about everything in his ife, he comes over as a rather cheerful sort. As for being stupid, he wrote a novel of his own which is far funnier than anything you have ever written. I don’t know why you are going out of your way to irritate an actor who will be expected to support your film.
Hola a todos… Se supone que ha esta hora debo estar realizando mis actvidades diarias que sirven para sostenerme economicamente y también para tener la excusa perfecta para poder disfrazar las deudas y seguir aumentándolas aunque sea un poco (con el trabajo).
Actualmente tengo 23 años de edad, y he estado estudiando desde los 4 años, sino me falla el recuerdo, solo he pasado 3 años sin estudiar. Hoy en día estoy estudiando Ingeniería en Mantenimiento Industrial, y honestamente creo que he perdido parte del tiempo de mi vida, siento que el camino el cual me encuentro recorriendo no me llevará a mi satisfacción y lo que es peor no creo poder ayudar a alguien con lo que hago. No se como salir de este agujero, aunque trato enormente de seguir las frases de “Se como el río que fluye”, pero es un poco difícil,… claro tampoco nadie me dijo que sería fácil.
Se supone que en esta edad, el hombre comienza a madurar… aunque todavía tengo pensamientos e ilusiones de cuando era niño.
Cada día trato de no perder la cabeza y no gritarle a mi jefe o desesperado gesticular mal contra un amigo. Verdaderamente no se si estas reflexiones se ajusten a la realidad o quizá sólo sirvan para complementar, algo que siempre he pensado y dicho: “nosotros realmente creemos en lo que queremos”, como también lo dijo alguna vez pero con otras palabras Julio César, ” Los hombres creen gustosamente aquello que se acomoda a sus deseos”.
Mientras tanto seguiré fluyendo como el río, y girando como nuestro planeta… tratando de ser mejor persona, mas humano y menos desagradable a los que estan a mi alrededor.
Como todos tenemos algo que contar, quise compartir esto con ustedes, espero no llenarlos de malas energias. creanme, realmente estoy luchando por cambiar.
Saludos…
Paulo, como siempre, excelente las ediciones que nos remites.
Sigue así y bendiciones
Jovanny
Thank you for this story. It seems I’ve read it before, although I do notice some changes, your routine is pretty much the same.
Thank you for sharing.
Anam.
I love this! It is very down to earth insightful and entertaining. The way that you wrote this conveys the lack of pretentiousness in your character and in your writing. My friends and I laughed out loud when we read the last line about the “in restaurants” this was fabulous.
ps. can’t wait to see Veronika Decides To Die.
Paulo,
I think your life is very interesting. At the same time, it mirrors what most of us deal with: work, technology, family and friends. Yours is a bit different as you get from one place to the next. It must be tiring though.
hi paulo,
and here i was imagining your life being one of centered contemplation.i thought you’d spend most of your days in one, beautiful place – not the hectic schedule and a life of many hotels and different airports. how do you stand it? and why?
hi, Dear paulo,
thanks for sharing your life part-moments with me, amazing, and remarkable in this point that you live in a great commiunity of syber, closer than ordinary ways of living to my heart and every one who knows you.
wish you the best of luck
Paulo
What a crazy world we live in!
Because you are a man of love & wisdom
people claim to take part in all of your life
And you share :)
Is temptating & good – but it would be
even better to create our own legends
insted of becomming a part of yours
You are a roadsign to wisdom & love*
I`ll try to cling to that and then-
make my own way
Again
Thanks
Love
B*Sofie
4] Back to the computer. Update the blog, read an interview with the stupid actor David Thewlis, who says that his role in “Veronika decides to die” (which opens next year) was “just another two weeks of work”. This irritates me. I read the rest of the interview and see that he complains about everything he has done in his life. My irritation goes away.
Wow… you’re still whining about that? You mentioned that months ago. If you’re reading that article again and complaining about Thewlis, you need a life. It was two weeks worth of work. I doubt his life revolves around the film based on your novel. Get over it.
And considering there’s still no US or UK release dates, maybe you should be happy they filmed it in the first place.
Hmmm, not so exciting life as I imagined. Seem almost a routine. Hope you dont mind. I loved the boots…Thank you for sharing parts of your daily life. Love, Alexandra
A busy man, indeed you are! No wonder I was told by Felicidade Cornwell that my e-mail to you will not be personally answered. But I have not lost hope. I will wait for the answers to my questions, when you are less busy perhaps.
As I come and go to work day in and day out, you have done so much more than what I could possibly do in a lifetime. All hands up to you, sir.
I am supprised! I never liked Biography or everyday notes about my favorite authors. But this was fun to read. Now I wish Rumi was alive and wrote what he actually did :)
edited by Admin
Anyway, I just wanted to say Hi and that I will savour your new book. Thank you. I will write a review when I’m done reading it.
PS. I’m still waiting for the library to order The Valkyries and The Pilgrimage. After that I will have officially read all your books.
By the way, I will be watching the birds at Ringve today at 6 p.m. hoping to see some of “my” birds. My favourites are the ringdove, the swan, the eagle, the owl and the coco. I have had exceptional experiences with all of these birds, but the ringdoves have been extremely close to me many times the last year. I have never been close to ringdoves before.
According to a booklet I found last weekend, the ringdove carries the following message: Spread the message of love around you. Your mission is to impart your vision about a world in love and beauty.
The whooper swan carries this message: You need to use song and music as means to personal development. Then you will feel better.
The mute swan carries this message: Trough being as unique as you are, you show the way for a lot of people. Your song and your voice is your gift that you can give to the world. (What?!!)
The owl carries this message: Use your own wisdom. Your mission is to bring your own wisdom and tradition further.
The eagle carries this message: Be brave and show who you are. Your mission is to spread wisdom.
The cocko carries this message: Your gift is to use new possibilities. Be open for new people on your way.
I have also been overrun by ladybugs (Maria-fly-fly). The ladybug carries the following message: Love yourself, and the world will love you. Somebody thinks about you with love. Your mission is to feel loved.
I am so lucky to have had good experiences in nature!! One book will be about encounters with birds and animals. :-) If I ever will start writing books that is…
So what do I actually do?
About 20 years ago I was marketing some very exclusive garments. They were so nice that after a visit to the royal palace, garments from this collection were bougth by the King and the Crown Prince and Princess to the Queen of Denmark and Princess Anne in England. They both had anniversaries. Still, it was difficult to find stores that would sell these garments. Fashion stores thought of the garments as handicraft products. The handicraft stores thought of the garments as fashion products. Some days I feel like these garments. Good quality, but I do not quite fit in in any of the ordinary type “stores”. I was lucky to find some very nice specialty stores that were willing to sell the garments…
Another story: About a week ago the ringdove landed just a couple of meters from my feet when I was walking my favourite path by the fjord. He walked across the path just in front of me. I have learned to speak his “language” and we were curring and purring, and he was fixing his feathers. I believe he was a little bit vain. :-) He decided to hang around for almost half an hour until some joggers came and scared him away. I kept on walking, and after a little while I found a bunch of white feathers by the path. (And here I think of Paulo Coelho again.) And then I thought: Maybe I should write books. Ten thousand stories from a ten year walk on the spiritual path….
My former husband once said to me: “Mari Ann – you are an artist soul trapped inside a bureucrat’s body.” Then we both had a good laugh, because we both knew it was so true. It is not easy to have an artist soul when you don’t have a special talent for the arts. Or never trained whatever talent you once had.
So what do I do to keep the promise that I gave to Jesus when I prayed to him for help? I told him that if he could help me when I was in desperate need of help, I would pay him back by making him visible to the world again. And he helped me so much more than I could have hoped for. Therefore I have a psychological contract I cannot break. Can someone take my hand and lead me the last few steps so I can fulfill my promise? I have helped, but now I need some help myself. Please…
Hi Mari Ann. I found your comment interesting in that you feel that there’s a barter trade required when you pray to Jesus for help. In many pagan religions, people promise to go back to shrines for thank offerings once their wishes are fulfilled.
I believe when he helped, it’s not because you promised a pay back (nor does he need your help in making him visible to the world again), but because you called out to him and he answered with grace and undeserved favour for you.
Isn’t that fantastic? Let all the believers simply give thanks and enjoy the blessings without striving in self-effort that’s irrelevant.
Out of this grateful heart, I am sure all your actions will automatically reveal the glory of Jesus that is in you.