Quote of the Week

A bird sings because he has a song, not because he has an answer.

258 Responses to “Quote of the Week”

Comment Pages : 1 2


  • a bird sings to express itself just like we human beings. we sing to express ourselves. but it does not mean we know everything. just by expressing oneself is enough to give a good vibes among others. so does the birds as it sings it brings a nice feeling to its listener

  • Way of the Bow. JAPAN – „Land of The Rising Sun”.

    The Children’s Peace Monument (located in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park) – a monument for peace to commemorate Sadako Sasaki and the thousands of child victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Little Sadako is immortalized at the top of the statue. She holds the golden CRANE. Around the statue there are thousands of origami cranes…At the base of the monument is a black marble slab on which is inscribed the following:

    “This is our cry, this is our prayer: peace in the world.”

    Isn’t that a song of the birds?

    And if heard more than a melody… If we heard melody and lyrics… We probably would pray with the birds.

    —————————-

    “I still pray but it’s something automatic (…) Because I’ve suffered, and God didn’t listen to my prayers. because many times in my life I have tried to love with all my heart, and my love has wound up being” /Paulo Coelho/

    “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…” /John 1:1-5/

    If we believe that life is a wonderful melody and it doesn’t matter what the lyrics are, probably GOD do the same – HE listens to the ‘melody’, not to our lyrics (not to the words, not to our prayers)… WORDS (and thoughts) have the magnificent power – our words and thoughts affect our life.

    With Love,
    Ilva

  • I wanted to sing You all a song, but the video didn’t work right now. I will try once again tomorrow.

    Goodnight,
    Liina

  • would be, could be, should be

    back to basics

    BE

    free

    as a bumblebee

    http://www.youtube;com/watch?v=uZHE9b1WDuM … :-)

    Lots of love,

    Vicky

  • Thank you Paulo!
    for a great quote this week…

    and I leave you with the kookaburra bird song ;o)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xum54hLRXrk&feature=related

  • How odd..
    I would agree with both Darshan and Carolyn
    yet at first their points seem to ‘contradict’..
    perhaps that is good why there are many birdsongs ;o)

    • ..so why so many contradictions ?

      perhaps it is the purpose of so much diversity and ergo, different birds with many melodies… to ensure that the song is sung and the search for our answer never forgotten.

  • I will give my interpretation if it. Tell me if it’s write.

    POULO COELHO WRITES BECAUSE HE GETS FINE THOUGHTS IN THE MIND. DON’T CONFUSE HIM FOR GOD BY HIS MIRACULOUS WRITING AND SEEK ALL ANSWERS FROM HIM.

    Something like it??

  • yeah we’re all little birds singing without to much thought of the song-hmmmm…sorry….i think it’s true!

  • “The Apple tree
    never asks
    the beech
    how he shall grow;

    nor the lion,
    the horse,
    how he shall
    take his prey.”

    …….. William Blake [proverbs of hell]

  • “A rose is a rose is a rose.” Gertrude Stein

  • [kaltura-widget wid="pfw99rjv6o" size="comments" /]

    • Not that easy to understand…It’s for Daniel, and I’m telling him about an interview I saw by Mel Gibson…who talked about the National Anthem in Australia.. and that Mel himself, prefers Waltzing Mathilda, and wanted everybody to sing it!

    • [kaltura-widget wid="5wf0ui8sxu" size="comments" /]

      • Dear Heart,
        So you got used to the camera thing!! :D:D:D: I love to see you this way! I didn’t know Waltzing Mathilda :D!
        Haha, I guess you were trying to convince Daniel to sing too..It is funny, that the ‘wave’ continues and the one sings-appears after the other, I like it!! :D

        Dear Daniel, when you said “Hello Heart” I heard “Alo-ha”, so I was in a funny mood watching you:D
        it is ok, we won’t push you to sing!

        Thank you guys!

        • Annie, and I like “alo-ha”!

          I will confess to singing happy birthday to Thelma, but did not submit the video because I was too embarrassed!

          Maybe one day!

          With love, Daniel

        • Annie… I actually tried to record a song dedicated to you and Thelma… I tried 3 times and deleted it each time. Hehe. This doesn’t mean I have given up. I love singing…and one day I’ll sing for you.

          I admire you so much for just open up and sing for us in your first clip. Aloha or Hola or Ciao!!!!!!!

        • SO , now we have David AND Heart who tried to make a video and they (the videos) never came to life..and to…our eyes!! Ahhhh!!!

          Well, about my singing in the first clips, I actually was amazed myself at my opening like this, because I don’t feel very comfortable being recorded..(especially when the sound gets distorted by the old microphone and that gets on my nerves when I sound a bit differently or with a ‘nasal sound’-like an..alien..)I also feel more comfortable singing to many people, and not to a single one -which is the case now, because one person hears it at a time-

          Aloha = holaa with a little rearrangement-dance of the letters ;o)

      • Thank you Daniel, Savita, Alexandra and Marie.

        Daniel I cannot quite understand it all…you say that Australians do like their new National Anthem? Wiki says Waltzing Matilda is like a fun song you often sing going to the bars? :))

        And to the girls…now it’s your turn.. Savita and Marie…Thanks Alexandra for already being one of the BRAVE !!!

        • Heart, the national anthem isn’t that new… unless there is something I don’t know about, which is quite possible, I haven’t watched a news broadcast for about 8 months I think! :-D

          I think we have had our anthem “Advance Australia Fair” since the 1970’s. Lots of Australian’s would prefer Waltzing Matilda though, but if it was a vote, I think many would still choose our current anthem.

          Personally, I like Waltzing Matilda.

          But when it comes to bars, Wiki is being quite romantic I think. Over here we have a drinking song called ‘ol man sam by a band called Spiderbait. Sport, beer, cars… the video shows a more common side of Australia that the travel brochures probably don’t mention ;-)

          A small aside: On my 18th birthday I went to see this band, and ended up spending the night in jail! Whoops!

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucjvmzttghA&feature=related

        • Daniel,

          Mel Gibson said you got the anthem a few years ago, but 1970 probably feels like just a few years ago for him :)

          The Spiderbait ol man sam is hilarious…and reminds me of some of the bar conditions on Norwegian rural areas.

          Auch! jail! Was it for singing? or for drinking? :)

        • I drank, I sang, I passed out in the street. My friends thought I had gone home with a girl and didn’t come looking, so it was the police who found me. Must have been all the dancing, went to my head! ;-)

      • Oh dearest Daniel, I have just read that you had made a video singing for me ‘Happy birthday’ but you were too embarrassed to send it.. It was so kind of you just by thinking of it. Thank you!!!!!
        LOVE,
        Thelma xxx

    • Love to see you!!!
      :)

    • How lovely. You such a happy person.
      Thank you
      Love
      Alexandra

    • Wouaahh!…o) I did not imagine you as it… It’s great! ;-)
      You have cheerful voice, I like it. Thank you for small song !

      Light & Love

    • yes heart.. lovely to see you! I shall rather call you Hope.. because your smiling face shines with this light ;o) nice to see/meet you! xxxx

  • Cher Maitre et les guerrieres de la lumiere,
    Le dernier quotte et celle la m’ont fait beaucoup réfléchir, comment toute les autres bien sur, mais d’une façon plus particulier car il y en a dedans un contexte que fais me questionner a ma vie personnelle.
    Je suis et j’étais toujours passionnée par la musique et je confesse que sans la musique peut être je n’aurais pas m’en sorti de la tempête de la même façon… pendant le derniers temps les plus difficiles j’étais presque la plus parte du temps en écoutant de la musique, et comment j’ai dit ça m’ai énormément aidée.
    Pour moi la musique c’est comme le poème, comment tes messages ou les commentaires de ce site, ça nourris mon âme, d’amour, des belles choses. Je ne cherche pas dans la musique une réponse, au contraire la musique m’apporte un dans état que permettre d’exprimer les sentiments de mon âme, et quand je chante, ou je lis de lyrics, ça me fais détendre, ça me permettre de libérer une énergie que je ne peux pas développer dans la pratique, mais que je n’arrive pas a tenir dedans mon cœur, donc il vaut mieux que je travaille cette énergie d’une façon ou d’autre, c’est l’énergie de l’amour quand j’écoute la musique.
    Le fait que mon amour ne puisse pas se réaliser dans la réalité ne fais pas qu’il disparaitre dedans mon cœur. J’accepte la réalité telle qu’elle est. Mais j’ai une âme qu’a besoin d’amour, de tout ce qu’est beau, qu’exprime l’amour… la musique me mets dans l’état de l’amour, qui n’attends plus des réponses, mais a besoin de s’exprimer d’une façon… je ne vis pas dans des illusions, quand je rêve, même que ma tête et mon cœur soit dans les étoiles filantes dans le ciel, mes pieds marchent par terre… ce que ça fait que je puisse accepter la réalité comme la vie m’amène…je peux rêver avec l’amour d’une personne mais je ne imposera que ça soit réciproque. Comme la quotte de la dernière semaine disais, on peut pas perdre quelqu’un car nous ne possédons personne.. je suis d’accord, et a mon avis nous ne pouvons pas non plus laisser d’aimer une personne parce qu’elle ne nous aime pas… ça viens avec le temps… et jusqu’à le moment de rencontrer une personne qui je pourrai vivre mon amour dans la réalité, je me laisse entendre le blackbird que exprime mon cœur et mon âme d’une certaine façon, sans faire du mal ni manquer de respect a personne, en respectant mes sentiments, mais aussi la liberté de mon prochain…
    Tres bon week a tous !!
    Dieu vos bénisse…
    Mon amour mon respect et ma gratitude…
    Ca

    Dear Master and the good people of WOL,
    The last quotte and the one made me think deeply, how any other course, but in a more special because there are within a context that make me question my life has.
    I am and I was always passionate about music and I confess that without the music can be I could not get out of the storm the same way … for the last time I was almost more difficult, all the time i was listening to music, and how the love, the music helped me enormously.
    To me music is like the poem, how your messages or comments about this website, it fed my soul, love, beautiful things. I do not seek in music an answer, instead the music brings me in a state that can express the feelings of my soul, and when I sing, I read the lyrics, it make me relax, it let me to release energy that maybe I can not develop in practice, but I can not hold inside my heart, so it is better that I work this energy in one way or another, is the power of love when I listen to music.
    The fact that my love cannot be achieved in reality does not make it disappear inside my heart. I accept reality as it is. But my soul a need love, of beautiful, expressed love, music … I put in the state of love, who don’t expect more answers, but needs to express themselves in a way … I don’t live in illusions, when I dream, even my head and my heart is in the shooting stars in the sky, my feet walk the ground … does that make I can accept reality as life brings me … I can dream of love with someone but I don’t require that it be reciprocal. As quotte the last week saying we can not lose someone because we do not have one .. I agree, and I think we can not leave to love someone because they do not like us … it came with the time … until the moment of meeting someone who I can I love living in reality, I suggest the blackbird that expresses my heart and my soul somehow, without doing harm or disrespect a person, respecting my feelings, but also the freedom of my next …
    Have a nice week a tous!
    God bless you all …
    My love, my respect and gratitude …
    Ca

    Sorry but mon english is very bad, I’m dont sure is possible understand but I TRY!!:)

    • Great post in French and English! I like what you say “The fact that my love cannot be achieved in reality does not make it disappear inside my heart.” “I suggest the blackbird that expresses my heart and my soul somehow, without doing harm or disrespect a person, respecting my feelings”
      Have a nice week too, Ca! Thanks for the insight.

    • Thank you very much Nancy! I write on this site with my heart. I’m glad you could understand the English translation (thank you Google translate;)) …
      All the best for you and all good people of WOL!
      Love,
      Ca

    • Ca…j’aime beaucoup votre intérieur ! Merci de ton post…il me fait réfléchir aussi ! :o)

      Lumière et Amour,

      • Marie,

        Merci beaucoup, c’est très gentil. Pour moi c’est vraiment un cadeau de la vie (et de Paulo) pouvoir être dans ce site et échanger avec vous.

        Amour et lumière,
        Ca

  • [edit] Chunosuke Matsuyama
    In 1784 Chunosuke Matsuyama, a Japanese seaman, and forty-three companions set out in search for a treasure buried on a Pacific island. But a storm came up; high waves almost turned the small ship over and the sails were ripped. Finally the wind blew the battered craft onto a coral reef. Matsuyama and the other crew members jumped out and waded ashore. They considered themselves lucky to have escaped, but after the storm blew itself out the next day, Matsuyama and his friends realized it had uprooted palm trees and except for a few coconuts there was nothing to eat. They survived on small crabs for some time, but there was no fresh water to drink. Matsuyama watched his friends die one by one and realized none of them, including himself, would ever see their families or home again.

    He decided to send a message. He found a bottle from the wreckage of his ship. Then using a knife he always had strapped to his waist, he cut thin pieces of wood from a fallen coconut tree. He carved a message carefully – the story of what had happened to him and his shipmates, sealed it in the bottle and threw it into the sea.

    In 1935, a century and a half later, the bottle washed ashore and was found by a Japanese seaweed collector. The place where the bottle came ashore was the village of Hiraturemura, the birthplace of Chunosuke Matsuyama.

    • Wow! That is amazing! Some stories don’t have happy endings, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t still be deeply meaningful.

      In our town, next to the library, buried under the cement of the sidewalk is a time capsule. It was placed there the year after I graduated from high school. I don’t know what is in it, because I didn’t attend the ceremony – by then, I was long gone from this town where I grew up. It is, however, a great source of fascination for my daughter. On the lid is a message printed: to be opened in 2036. She plans to be there when that lid is lifted, because she can’t wait to see what lies within it.

      I try to imagine, if I were to send something into the future – either an object or a written message for future generations – what would it be? What would my life, my tiny island, have to offer that would be of value or of meaning to people living fifty or a hundred years from now?

      That sailor: just the fact that he lived with purpose (a sense of direction, a destination he sought to reach) and that he struggled, even after others had given up. That alone seems deeply meaningful in itself. He continued to struggle, even when he knew that he had lost. He wrote that message, not because he thought it would save him, but just to have the story of their struggle told. The struggle in itself is meaningful.

      A few days ago, my daughter and I were watching a video on Pompeii. I was trying to explain to her the archeological significance of the site – how, uniquely, it serves as a sort of frozen snapshot of the culture and the people. I said, “Imagine if something were to happen – some magical thing – that caused us, our house, and everything in it, to be frozen just as we are: you, sitting there, holding your pencil; the dog over there, asleep on the floor, my glass of water before me on the table – everything in this room preserved just as it is. What do you think people would conclude about our lives? What could they learn about us from this picture?”

      The thing which struck me most about the video we watched on Pompeii was this standing soldier – a sentinel, standing frozen for all eternity, in front of the door which it was his duty to guard. He did not succeed in his post, not really. He couldn’t stop the flow of lava from overtaking his village, he couldn’t prevent the ash from falling. He couldn’t protect the lives of those inside that building, but he wasn’t caught running either. He was standing, firm, stock-still in front of that door. Like the Japanese sailor, Matsuyama, in this way his life has meaning, even in death.

      http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/poynter/paintings/7.jpg

  • [kaltura-widget wid="c9m3itfnoc" size="comments" /]

    • Sadly, I (as my case was in the video) I can not hear You.
      But there is a benefit. I SEE You. Lol

      :)
      I hope Suphi helps us to fix it.

      Love,
      Liina

    • Dear ALexanndra, I love your smile and your face expressions ;o) you givelight to the whole picture ..but I cannot hear you too, as Liina says.. :o(By the way you look very comfortable speaking with the video ;o) You Go girl! :o)

      Love and Graditude
      Annie

    • Dear Alexandra,
      I believe you forgot to enable your microphone. If you tell me your operating system (like WindowsXP, or Vista, or MacOSX), and what kinda equipment you have, I can help.
      Email-me : arrariv@gmail.com
      Love,
      Suphi

      • Thanks a lot, I did all was written there, I use skype, hotmail, but not the latest version, my web cam is Live!cam vista im (vfo420).If this not enough, I try to look better and write more. Thank you, I know is hard for you to understand a person that has no idea about programms as I am… Hope you can help.
        Thank you
        Love
        Alexandra

      • I have to add that I use Windows XP extended edition, codename Simplicity. Maybe help?
        In the video I was saying that in my opinion the bird was singing because was happy, and that idea came while seeig Annie singing…

    • lovely to see you Alexandra!

  • And sometimes the bird has a dream realises it is never too late to follow it…

    http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=55732145

    • Thank you Daniel.. Yes it is never too late ;o) She was very brave and had self confidence and faith in the DREAM…
      That is all we need, bravery and faith in our dream..

      Love and Graditude
      Annie

    • perfect example…
      thank you!

      and, illustrating the stereotypes held by society where sexuality is concerned… and how spirituality overcame …

      she “is the darkness that must come out of light”

  • Gracias!!!
    Sus Libros me han ayudado mucho!!!
    Me estoy divorciando ha sido una situación
    muy desagradable como para volverse loco
    porque seguimos viviendo bajo el mismo techo.
    Yo habia comprado El Alquimista hace muchos años
    y por fin lo leí, me dio tanta paz y tranquilidad
    en los momentos más difíciles cuando el dolor y la tristeza se apoderan de ti, que piensas que no puedes más.
    Otro libro que me encanto fué A orillas del río Piedra me senté
    y lloré, de verdad lo felicito tiene un don para la escritura
    Creo que ha sido de gran ayuda para millones de personas
    Gracias!

  • I know a true story about a little bird that actually did give an answer to a question to a little girl a long time ago…

    but it will remain unspoken here…
    it’s my mum’s story and tune to twitter ;o) x

    • O.K.
      So my mother had been ill; but after a few days and feeling better, she went off to see her aunt in the next village.
      “Aunty, I’ve been ill” my mother, Paula, told her aunt.
      “I Know” replied my mum’s aunt.
      “How Do you know that!?” said a surprised young Paula.
      “Oh, a little birdie told me”.. smiled mum’s aunt.

      My mum paused to ponder how this could of indeed have been possible..
      but then remembered that there Had Indeed Been
      a little bird sitting at the window of her bedroom…
      “It must have been the robin who told you” cried out Paula.

      ;o) xx

  • the bird sings once more
    and so the Phoenix rose from the ashes

  • By speaking about bird…

    The phénix, or phœnix (of ancient Greek φοῖνιξ / phoinix), represents a wonderful bird, gifted with longevity and characterized by its power to come back to life having been burning under the influence of its own warmth. It represents so the cycles of death and resurrection.(source Wikipedia)

  • Не по теме, но по всем сразу:
    Пауло, СПАСИБО!
    За Ваш труд, за Ваши книги. В них я нашла ответы на многие мои вопросы. Это помогает жить и искать!
    Спасибо большое.Thank you.
    Наташа из России.

  • this quote somehow liberated me…
    thanks+love

  • beautifully said…there are millions of moments in this life we cant narratively express our feelings and thoughts. at so many times there are no ready answer to the things happening around us. but inside we feel and touch the things that word cant touch and even in combined form they cant say what and how we feel. all sorts of tunes constantly play inside us which in fact makes us human

  • I wish i can sing in tune with NATURE as birds do ;)..I love the sound of birds singing..In my forest retreat away from the concrete jungle back in my homeland, the nightbirds sing you to sleep and before the sun rise, the morning birds wake you up gently with their orchestra.. REALLY AWESOME!!..

    I think, they sing because they have songs and most of all they have no questions but they have answers…they have wisdom from Nature.. ;)

  • Now here’s a video dear Annie…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjem3G_QsKA

    Judy Collins also sang a beautiful version of this son by the great non (anti) singer… Leonard Cohen

    Enjoy, Love, Paul

    • “Like a bird on the wire,
      Like a drunk in a midnight choir
      I have tried in my way to be free.”

      Somehow, this reminds me also of the previous quote of the week, that we don’t own anyone, and it is also a hint for this quote of this week..so it seems you merged them into a song ;o) that is genious!
      And I add some lyrics with the same melody
      “Like a pilgrim mile after mile
      Like a cloud travelling through the sky
      I have tried in my way to be free”

      <3<3

      Love and Graditude
      Annie
      p.s I put it in my favourites! :o)

  • A bird sing because it just wants to express itself. It could be a song, it could be a story, it could even be an answer… No body know to which question…Sounds will may be just interrupt the dark of the silence… The dark of the deep thoughts…The bird is a witness of too many crimes committed by man beings, of too many unfair affairs…May be it sings to relieve the hearts of suffering humans or just praying god to punish evils…No body knows? hearing its song could be a relief to some but a curse to others…

  • [kaltura-widget wid="g9sezcoodg" size="comments" /]

  • very well put. simple and respectful. rhythm is divine and all holds a song,piece.diane

  • What is there this morning for me as I read this quote is that the bird “lives”. He does not think of not having food, water. He does not doubt. He just “is” and does not even question, doubt, fear since he has inside him that certainty that he will be provided when needed, when the need is there, taking what is there and if not, knowing that he has the ability given by his Creator to fly to it. In the Scriptures, it is said that we should not doubt of God’s generosity or presence for our needs, like the bird that knows that nature will provide. That attitude of the bird that sings is the attitude that I wish to develop … faith, living the present moment, even hard moments in singing my faith, assurance that my Creator knows exactly what is there for me and is taking care of me, and sing with that certitude that “now” something is happening.

    I am going more and more after many years of walking my path to attaining and maintaining balance between rational and irrational. I used to ask, and ask, think and think, search for answers, not feeling at peace until I had a sign, an answer, and all that time, I forgot to “live”, to “sing”. Until I got the answer, I was obsessed with the matter, the fear, the need, the doubt. No song there, no melody … Today, I understand more and more that I need to let go, “sing”, and that all is there in me, in relation to the Universe, that all will come at the time it has to come. My rational mind is less dominant, less trying to do it all by itself, letting my soul, my irrational come and express the melody that needs to be heard, noted and sang.

    Like I say, I am looking for balance. Stop the rational mind take all the power over the irrational, and not letting the irrational, the emotional take over the rational. In the union of both, the collaboration of both, the marriage of both forces I can “sing”. Whereas when one took power over the other, the melody is … heavy metal!

    Cordially, Jojo.

  • jeje

    Let’s just say
    I know because
    a little bird told me.

    http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/a_little_bird_told_me

  • ..
    the answer is blowin’ in the wind anyway ;o) x

  • A BIRD SING BECAUSE WE ONLY HEAR THE SONG,WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO LISTEN. That is why we think he has no answer!
    ‘and there would be more peace and harmony in the world if we all sang the same song’ and listened more carefully to the lyrics.

  • Whatever the Song… Thank you for the Music…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WauFkb4jmCI

    Love, Paul

  • The bird is rooted in Being, rooted in the peaceful wisdom that comes from the heart, not in the limited square that is the mind…

    May we all remember we came also from that pure space, for that is our destiny…True Freedom!!!

    Thank you Paulo for this wonderful quote, you inspire me not only with your books but with this blog! :)

    Blessings to all!

    Grettel.

    P.S. I have a question for you, hope you can answer it:

    When did you realize you were Truly Free?

    • i can recall my moment when i felt i knew inside how free i was… looking into the eyes of a soulmate…
      but i wish i could pin point what it was i understood..
      but language of the heart is like double dutch !!

      • what i meant to say – sorry am too distracted today – was that, yes… i think it remembering or rather being reminded by someone i trust.. that we ALL come from that pure free place
        and knowing that is indeed liberation

Comment Pages : 1 2

Leave a Reply