source: “Like the Flowing River” by Paulo Coelho
A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked:
‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’
His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:
I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’
Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special.
‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’
‘That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’
‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’
‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpner. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.
‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’
‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’
‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action’
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Thanks for sharing the story. It is a wonderful story to always have in mind.
Just a very simple reminder that really lighten-up my gloomy Sunday morning.
I just got out of the Church after morning mass, been doubtful for a second if God really ahead of me, guiding me out of my trouble heart. Then here I am, sipping my coffee, reading your pencil story, and I got my answer straight.
Thanks Paulo!
a very inspiring story, i love it..
Thank you sir for your wonderful story. I have 2 girls so i have some thing to make them learn new thing to be good . Thank you!
mister coelho,
thank you for reminding me of that story. my teacher in highschool shared that with us years ago and a few years back i was trying to puzzle it out again. now i found it. it’s a nice analogy for us people. and like the pencil, you have definitely left an idelible mark for us, your readers. thanks for always inspiring us…
danielle
Touched by the story, thanks a lot!
Dear Paulo!
Interesting how this story has to do with what happened to me today. Sixth grade students were graduating and they dedicated the graduation to another teacher and me.I taught English to them since they were in first grade and this honor meant a lot to me. I was feeeling so grateful and excited I only managed to bubble some words thanking them for choosing me. I forgot to talk about the hand, but I told them I hoped to have left a mark on them, I hoped to have taught them how to be enthusiastic about what they do. I don’t know if they understood that, but I certainly know they left the huge mark of love in my heart and so did I on them.
Blessings and love to you.
Adriana
Wow this is a well written story and very inspirational indeed…i will be a pencil from now on and apply all those qualities in my everday life. Thankyou Paulo for sharing.
thank you mr. paulo coelho..(^.^)
This is my favourite story from ‘Like A Flowing River’. I gave it to my husband to read in English (he is Greek and his English is limited) and it was so moving for him. He keeps on quoting it to everybody, it touched him so much.
I’d like to know, Paulo. When you wrote ‘The Alchemist’, did you use a pencil? How do you write best? Do you sit and type at your desk, or carry a notebook around with you and write wherever and whenever inspiration strikes you?
With much love,
Jessica x
Just fantastic. Thanks for such a nice story.
It’s sooooo nice moral story…thank’s te reminde me about certain things that I’ve ever forgotten…I always like your works Mr Paulo!!
Beautiful! very thoughtful as always!
Dear paulo, what a beautiful story.. Thank you so much for sharing! Its perfect for my today…! :-) …like all of your words… they come to me at the most perfect timing! :-)
Merry Christmas and Wonderful 2010! Many blessings to you and your family :-)
This is a wonderful story Paulo. It makes me remember my father, a building contractor, and the rectangular pencils he used to mark boards and other building materials. He would have to sharpen them with his knife and often showed me how to do so and not cut myself. Sometimes a pencil would go behind his ear and sometime in his shirt pocket. It was always kept close to him when he worked. The pencil was a very important part of his construction work. An excellent metaphor you have chosen, Paulo
I DO HOPE YOU ARE FEELING BETTER.
Love and beautiful light to you,
Lainee
That’s such a lovely image of your father. My father was also an architect and artist. I remember he had these solid, metal pencils he used to sketch designs with. I used to borrow them from his desk so I could draw pictures. I remember they were so cool and heavy for my little hand. Later my father dedicated his life to writing music. He would always use ink pens and I loved the smudge marks on his fingertips and the fingermarks he would leave on the paper.
beautiful…. a great lesson…. thank you.
Dear Mr Coelho,
I am not a fan but heard your website from one of my friends. Whenever I read your books, short stories and quotations, I must confess I am full of admiration. They’re so rich in meaning and wisdom. I can only say you touch so many people’s lives and hearts including mine and I’m so grateful. With your splendid words of wisdom,- I live… I love… in a vicious cycle. Thank you so much.
This is lovely. Thanks so much for your 30 second stories and please keep them up.
This is a very touching story. And oh so true! Thank you so much for sharing. You are always an inspiration to all of us.
indeed this is what we need these days,so to stop to harm our planet.we should arise our awarness and be careful,GOD have given us something that we should appreciate otherwise he can take it back while we r speechless,we can t go back and correct it ,so let s learn from the story above and do something
J’aime bien cette histoire , merci!
First quality: you must never forget that although you see a hand writing, is the mind that makes it happen. If your mind controls your body then you will see that you are capable of great things.
Second quality: now and then, in order to keep writing you will have to sharpen the pencil and you will see that this makes it shorter and shorter. If you do not sharpen it, it will stop writing. So you, too, will have to make sacrifices in your life in order to keep leaving, these will make your life shorter but if you don’t you will not live at all.
Third quality: some pencils have an eraser on the top and some not, and when you use it sometimes you are able to see what is written underneath. That means that some acts can never be undone, and some can be erased. And you can never erase something totally and some things you do no matter how hard you try can never totally be erased.
‘Fourth quality: although is the graphite that makes a pencil write on a paper it needs the wooden exterior, to make a pencil a useful object. So remember that many things alone are useless or incomplete and that some things if combined can make a unique result.
‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: the marks that a pencil leaves can inspire only the ones that know the language that is used. Know that for everything you do in your life there would be many people that will not understand the meaning, do not worry, because there is always someone that has the knowledge to read the most complex actions.
With love
I like your version or I should say your perspective or point of view of the pencil story.
Thanks for sharing your point of view with us.
Thank you NICOS Aρχαντώνης, beatifully … continued! ;-]
LOVE from Cyprus,
Thelma xxx
Nikos,
your explanation is also a good one!
Henry
Εξαιρετικό κύριε Αρχαντώνη! Μια άλλη εκδοχή εξίσου σημαντική, εξίσου διδακτική, εξίσου μοναδική όπως του συγγραφέα! Τα θερμά μου συγχαρητήρια!
;-)
Truly, a very inspiring story… That which, in its simplicity, touches your heart and leaves a mark that can last a lifetime…
Thank you, Paulo… for reminding us…
A funny anecdote:
During the space race back in the 1960′s, NASA had to address the problem of how astronauts would write in the vacuum of space. At the cost of $1.5 million dollars they developed an “astronaut pen”, which went on to enjoy success in the commercial market. Proving that ingenuity can solve almost any problem. The Soviets, faced with the same problem used pencils.
I remember that story,really nice.
I cannot use “traditional” pencils: I eat them completely!
Love,
Rossana Curri
Thank you Paulo, for this very beautiful story.
I am a grandmother. I’m not very good at writing, but it doesn’t matter does it? My PENCIL is my story.
The hand of God has guided me through sorrow and joy, and I know he will never leave me. I’ve often had to use the sharpener and sometimes it really hurt! But I survived and was able to carry on. I have made many mistakes along the way, but thanks to the eraser, I have managed to keep on the straight and narrow. I have always tried to follow my heart, whatever the cost. However, like all pencils, I am getting smaller and I know I won’t last forever!
What mark did I leave? I really cannot say. Did I succeed? Did I make a difference? Did I reach the hearts of others?
Only God will tell.
Theresa,
You have allowed God to move through you with all of the beautiful things you have done in your life. I feel that you have to be the best grandma ever. We are all loving your spiritual words as you use them to wrap your loving arms around us.:-) I am sure God is going to say “Well done, my true and faithful one…” when you enter his arms.
Love,
Lainee
Thank you Theresa,
From one pencil and grandmother, to another. I enjoy reading your writings very much too!
With Love and Caring, Jane : ) xo
This is true! Especially the first quality. I also love your comments on facebook. Thank you!
So we all are pencils!
I was thinking today about the fourth quality. There is something that doesn’t allow me to live my marks as I want to but it is so hard to find and fix that…
Love
Olta
I’m vigor and compassion
I’m pencil and eraser
I’m still trying to be the best pencil I can be and hope I will leave a mark somewhere. Thank you for such a wonderfully simple explanation of how to be a better person. xx
LOVE IT.
Ah, that’s such a nice story!
Such a sweet story
Já li essa história no seu livro “Ser como um rio que flui” e adorei. Já li também para o meu filho e acho que ele entendeu.
Always in my life I want to be careful. My colleagues in office pique me about my good situation of my desk…
The last years I am using always pencil when I am writing…
Just now i realised why do this.
All my 40 years of my measured life I couldn’t avoid mistakes which defaced my life. Although I remember my mistakes but never i apologized for these.
Now mith my “pencil” i can erase my mistakes and i write again start from scratch with a big SORRY…
THANKS FOR THE ONE MORE LIFE LESSON!
A truly wonderful way to teach meaningful truths of life in a simple form, so that it would reach a child, to see things from a different perspective. We can teach even children of the truth of the life and make them think about the world and it’s diversities from the start. If only we would be lucky enough to find the form that would reach them. In a simple, yet meaningful way.
This was truly 30 sec reading, this time, I guess. :) Hehe… thanks.
Love,
L
Thank you for this story, in your words it seems to be so simple
wow to the Indian oral tradition and wow to you thank you for writing what you are writing thank you thank you
and bye the way there is a great book that had been translated to Arabic form Indian tradition stores an old one like 400 to 500 years ago its name is “kalila o domna ” i don’t know if its has a different name in english but its so touching in animals story on the jangle i have read it when i was young and its still touch me you should read it
thanks bye
Paulo, what’s good in being a better person? Please give me an answer like your faumous quote at twitter” In love if you lose you win too” …or something like that.
A truly amazing story!!!
Thanks so much for sharing all this great things with us!
Right now as we speak I am answering a calling and this came at the perfect time. Even if I do not get the result I hope for, I know that the lesson, and the impact I made is what will really matter. I want to explode because there is so much passion running through my veins and in my soul, but I need to remember to be responsible with this passion and compassionate as well so that if enemies are made, they are at least made with respect.
Thank you Paulo for the gentle reminder :)
Thank you for being one of my inspirations in writing. You are a very introspective and brilliant writer.
Truly, even the simplest and ordinary objects we see from day to day can give us wisdom on life and our being.
Sincerely,
Sam M. from the Philippines
“it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action’ya very true because no one can remove that marks even if u erase the mark is still there .ARHAM
Now I’m officially a fan. Thanks for this great story. Will try to be the best pencil that I can be.
Where can we read more ‘Like the Flowing River’? Recently, I was reading about the enormous importance of rivers and harbors for all the world’s great cities. The Nile, the Rhine, the Seine…The way many rivers flow is entirely dependent on rainfall, and varies drastically between wet and dry seasons. Mountains effect the flow of our rivers too. With large mountain ranges, which collects snow in the winter, the melting of that snow feeds water into the streams and rivers, and maintain their flow even during times of low rainfall.
Land features affect water flow in another way. A region of high plateau, such as tropical Africa or Tibet, has streams and rivers that must descend large vertical distances, flowing away to the sea. Rivers which flow across coastal plains, are less navigable, because of rapid waterfalls.
In desert areas, for example, the distances between sources of water, compared to the distance a camel can travel without water, determine what routes across the sands or dry steppes are feasible. In China, the Yangtze River receives twice as much rainfall annually as the Yellow river, and causes catastrophic floods, nicknaming it ‘China’s sorrow’.
One summer we traveled along the Rhine river down south and back up north, and camped by this quietly flowing river. People were living in their boats there, and there were camp grounds and B&B for recreation by the river. Even though my countrymen are known for being great fisher men, I never cared for fishing, but to watch the water flow and listen to flowing water always had a very calming effect, a purifying effect.
Found it on Amazon.com!
yeah,
it is the same with the ocean and the sound of waves.
as a child I suffered always when water was not close. I actually learned as an adult to be more patient with this when I lived in Utah, it is desert. but when you go hiking up the cascades mountains, you pass little creeks and lakes in high altitude. they are crispy cold. and then sticking the tired feet into the cold running creek after a long hike …
water is interesting and the relationship one can have with it …
your way to look at all the rivers opened my eyes to look at water again and include this perspective.
thanks for the great topic
K
Very delighted and with a wise smil in the face I finished your storie. Was thinking you’re right and funny plus I’ve to translate it now tell it later my two kids as a good night tale as I tell them mostly each day one. Will say thanks for your help. God bless you.
Francesco
EXCELLENT ! SUPERB ! MARVELOUS ! I was indeed in a need of such thing. Thank you Sir , Thank you so much.
A big fan from pakistan.
[Different] Pencil (designed by Piet Blom, Netherlands)
http://www.eikongraphia.com/wordpress/wp-content/Potlood-kubus2.jpg
Neither snow not rain nor heat can make harm to it. Moreover, this Pencil never gets smaller…
Your Body, Your Temple [Pencil!] – treat it that way!
***
Thank you for the story, Paulo. Very inspiring.
Much love,
Ilva
When I first read this in your book ‘Like The Flowing River’ I told the story to my daughter as at the time she was going through a few difficulties at school. It is explained so simply but with such a significant message that I knew that it would help her to understand many things that she was going through at the time and also guide her in the future.
Thank you once again for sharing your wisdom in a way that helps us in our own lives, but also lets us pass on these important notes to our friends and loved ones.
xxx
Bela historia , inspiradora …
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