(below the opening page of “The Alchemist”, which always make me think about my attitude towards the world)
The alchemist picked up a book that someone in the caravan had brought. Leafing through the pages, he found a story about Narcissus.
The alchemist knew the legend of Narcissus, a younth who knelt daily beside a lake to contemplate his own beauty. He was so fascinated by himself that, one morning, he fell into the lake and drowned. At the spot where he fell, a flower was born, which was called the narcissus.
But this was not how the author of the book ended the story.
he said that when Narcissus died, the goddesses of the forest appeared and found the lake, which had been fresh water, transformed into a lake of salty tears.
“Why do you weep?” the goddesses asked.
“I weep for Narcissus,” the lake replied.
“Ah, it is no surprise that you weep for Narcissus,” they said, “for though we always pursued him in the forest, you alone could contemplate his beauty close at hand.”
“But…was Narcissus beautiful?” the lake asked.
“Who better than you to know that?” the goddesses said in wonder. “After all, it was by your banks that he knelt each day to contemplate himself!”
The lake was silent for some time. Finally, it said:
“I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected.”
“What a lovely story,” the alchemist thought.
DREAMS ARE NOT NEGOTIABLE.
Too right Den Rod :) Keep up the good work in the New Year
Paulo, you are crazy and you are warrior of light! :) Yhan you for that!
Happy New Year
i wish u a merry christmas and happy new year Mr coelhu
i think u have to know,
not enough to know u r great??
u have to know ..u r great Paulo Coelhu??
Ashraf Moualla from Syria
http://www.zayedalkher.com
Quite an unusual story at the end of the year.
Narcissus (=sleep; numbness)
Every dreamer can be an alchemist if he fights against numbness in his heart… May love, peace and joy fill your heart this Christmas Eve!
***
Christmas Carol “Sleep well, little children”
Sleep well, little children,
Wherever you are;
Tomorrow is Christmas
Beneath every star.
Soon the snowflakes will fall
And tomorrow you’ll see
Every wish, one and all,
Waiting under the tree.
Sleep well, little children,
Pleasant dreams through the night;
Tomorrow is Christmas,
All merry and bright.
Soon you’ll hear the bells ring,
Time for dreams to come true
As the world wakes to bring
Merry Christmas to you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUnKKL7rlIk
***
Merry Christmas, dear Paulo!
Merry Christmas, dear warriors!
Love ‘n Cherries!
Ilva
Merry Christmas Mr Paulo and all Mr Paulo’s friends
i hope u all have a great vacation
i read the alchemist but frankly i don’t remember that story .. thanks for the reminding
A very merry X Mas and a Happy New Year to u too mr alchemist.
and all freinds here
contemplate beauty, when u do there is no need to compare
love
Dear Paulo,
Thank you for the beautiful story. Thank you also for all the inspiration you have given me, and for helping me to put my life into perspective. Thank you also for your team who work so hard to keep this blog on the ‘air’.
Hoping you will have a magical Christmas up in the mountains!
Blessing to you and all your family.
Theresa
you always fascinate and surprise us with ur lovely twisted endings and gorgeous stories.i loved it.xx
Merry Christmas and a happy new year from Colorado. Thank you for inspiring me daily to pursue my dreams. God bless.
hi….happy new year…..about narcissus and the lake..it reminds me of what somebody said to me once…..
thanks for my image in your eyes
i did not know i was so beautiful…..
sabiha
Merry Christmas Dearest Paulo! And Happy new year!
May 2010 bring to you much more Love and Joy than the previous years!
And about the story, I always liked this story but I don’t know why I have the feeling I haven’t understood it very deeply. There is something in it I still think I haven’t got yet. And I want to understand better…
Love
Olta
One was loving,another did afford to be loved..
What are you saying Olta??? I didn’t understand something too, and I was thinking of asking you!!! I have an idea, but I think is not quite right… We should talk about this…
Well it wasn’t really clear to me till gaury helped me understanding it, but just right yesterday I could see clearly what it was all about.
I’ve been dealing with such thing my whole life, but I wasn’t able to see clearly… ;D
Historias siempre muy bonitas y gratificantes las que en este blog puedo encontrar. Deseo dar felicitaciones en estas fechas a todo ser que pase por esta página, pero muy especialmente al señor Coelho y a una de sus lectoras: Rosa de los vientos. Que el amor de Dios perdure en todos vosotros.
Have a very merry Christmas Paulo and to all WoL readers …
May 2010 harbour peace and joy for each one of us ;o)
Essa história realmente é muito linda. O Alquimista é o meu livro preferido e o que me levou a ser fã de seu trabalho.
Desejo-lhe um ótimo e abençoado natal e ano novo. Que esse ano de 2010 seja repleto de paz e sucesso pra vc.
Muito Obrigada por ser um escritor que traz palavras e histórias tão lindas que me inspiram no dia-a-dia. Hoje recebi tanto o email como a carta com seu conto de natal. Leio todo o ano e sempre me emociono.
A história dos cedros me comoveu bastante, é muito linda.
Mais uma vez muito obrigada,
um grande abraço!
Grasie.
Olá Paulo, Feliz Natal e próspero ano Novo para todos nós!
O Vencedor não esta só!
Abrações!
What a lovely story , yes!!!
It captures all the essence of what we see in the world and how we see the world… we always see ourselves mirrored on others…
The world is beautiful cause there are wols everywhere in the world.. they may be spread, but here they join in this marvelous place, the PCB.. so since the world is beautiful, I am too , hehe :D
Thank you Paulo for everything! You are the most remarkable person I love, adore, appreciate, admire…
Have a blessed Merry Christmas, you all!!!
love and GraDitude
Annie
beauty lies in the eyes of both lovers.
So as the eyes of Jesus could see the beauty of Children, in the same way Children could see the endless beauty of the Love of God for them.
Merry Christmas
your books have a life enhancing impact on me..i see things more reasonably….i am deeply in love with your books…u r one of god’s greatest gift to us….merry christmas paulo!!!!
Have a merry merry christmas
Thanks for all the joy you bring.
Dear Paulo..thank you for this..for sharing yourself in your wonderful books, for letting us join you here in all our journeys…Your blog is always a very special place to be…as are you special….I wish you God’s blessings for a very Happy Christmas and New Year…..with love xxx
hm.
let’s merge the dream (e-card) & the narcissus story ….
I fall in love with a dream and nurture it so that it can grow.
a dream can be like the pond. thus, the pond=dream reflects my beauty. thus I look into my dream, begin to understand it better, love it more. but what I actually see and love when I look into my dream=pond is according to the narcissus story myself.
thus, loving a dream is actually “indirectly” loving myself.
therefore, I have gained strength by working on it this year. Therefore, I feel now closer to it and more certain even though I have received some rejections …
and since it reflects me and also my love to myself, it is not negotiable.
on the other side, the pond=dream benefits from narcissus looking into the pond, it discovers its own beauty.
thus, what several comments in this blog said: a dream goes beyond the person who has it … it has its own life and purpose; it is related to the universe.
(and what I feel, it goes even deeper, but my understanding is reduced here).
just fascinating.
like a christmas present :o)
Merry Christmas!
That reminds me of one story :there are two firemen who went out from one burning house ,one made a very dirty face ,the other’s is clean ,then they get at a lake ,who would be the first to clean his face ?
The one who is clean, because he sees the other one who is dirty and he thinks he is dirty too. I remember this one. heheheh
Love
Olta
The silence of the mountains speak through the lake’s flower…reflected in your beauty
Thank you Paulo
Merry Cristmas!
With love
Hildegarde
xxx
very beautiful story !wish you have a good time ,Paulo .we’ll be fine.and Daniel ,your words are always so beautiful as well.you always have the ability to speak everyone’s feeling.
God Bless you too SUN.
Happy Christmas Coelho, let the god nourish your skills so as to let our life colourful
rajesh C R
Kerala-India
whow!
now one of the e-postcards is added :o)
thank you, thank you, thank you!
Namaste
to
you all
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qedoxGdmXuo
SILENT NIGHT!
The most beautiful Christmas song.
May we always reflect HIS beauty in our eyes! THE sparkling eyes of LOVE, because HE IS ‘the PATH, the TRUTH and LIFE’ and the ‘Light that enlightens every Soul that comes into the World’.
May God bless you, dearest Paulo Coelho, and give you strength to continue spreading the Light with your WORDS, Logos.
Happy Christmas to you and Christina, who according to the Greek Orthodox tradition, she celebrates her name’s day.
MUCH LOVE,
THELMA xxx
And I wish you a Merry, Merry Christmas too dear Thelma, who spread Truth and Knowledge with your words too; to Paulo and his wife too of course (thank you for the story, it’s wonderful), and to all those who take part to this blog of light during this and next year.
May this Christmas be a light moment for everyone, and may God watch over us and help us to realize our wishes in the following year.
Love, Chris
MY love to you, dear Chris, that you have your name’s day too. My grand-son’s name is Christos – Χρίστος – too.
Thank you for your kind words and may God bless you. I will be happy to meet you sometimes.. and if you go to .. http://www.gravatar.com you may appear with your photo in the Blog!!
Thank YOU SUPHI for your constant presence and help, here in the Blog, even on … Sundays!! ;-]
LOVE,
Thelma xxx
Thak you dear Thelma for you invitation.
however I’m not very fond of computers and internet, so during this end-of-year- holydays I’ll ask my husband (who knows everything abotu internet) then I’ll do it.
Meanwhile Thank you again and happy new year!!!
Chris
I absolutely love this story!
Thank you dearest Paulo Coelho for your blog, for this space, I’ve learned so much here and thank you to everyone for sharing your thoughts and heart and joy and sadness.
Wishing You and Christina and all your loved ones and all the wol’s a Happy Christ Birthday and a wonderful New Year!
Warm thoughts and blessings,
C.
How beautiful. Wish you a wonderful journey, dear Paulo, thanks a lot for everything. Have fun.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love
Alexandra
I hope you have tons of fun paulo coelho!!! I wish you a safe journey! :D
♥ Paulo, obrigada por existir, e por ser um ser humano e um escritor tão fenomenal !
Tenha um 2010 abençoado !
Com amor e atenção,
Jéssica =)
Dear Paulo,
Many blessings to you and Christina, now and in the coming year. You and your team who help to make this blog possible, are a blessing to us all.
Sincerely,
Savita
Paulo, you are the wizard of words. Your magical words has been changing my life for years.
I am the one that leaved eveything for a miracle. One day you gave me hope, a powerful hope. Now,… I don’t know what to say.
Never answering my mails even in one word. I don’t know you are seeing me or not, you are care about me or you want to show me a bigger way.
After that nightmare, I become stronger. But I still don’t realy know why you never answered me again.
I wish you the biggest year of your life.
Infinitas gracias por estar ahí para nosotros tus lectores porque cada vez que haces una pregunta o pones una historia fomentas una esperanza, tiras un nuevo sueño al mundo o pones a luchar a quien está caído. Que Dios te dé luz, te dé paz, te lleve por sus insondables caminos bendiciéndote con su dulzura para que después puedas bendecirnos e inspirarnos con tus palabras. Lo mejor para ti y los tuyos en esta Navidad y el año nuevo que se aproxima.
Hasta siempre
Adriana
Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous or boastful,it is not arrogant or rude.
Love does not insist on its own way.
The Bible
I read these words during this week and wanted to quote them in wishing Paulo,his beloved wife and all his family and friends(and my friends on the online community here on the blog) a blessed Christmas and New Year
Love Breda
Have a wonderful journey, Paulo. Breathe the fresh mountain air and be one with nature.
The wisdom of nature: When something disappears (Narcissus as a human), something else reappears (narcissus as a flower). No empty spots. Nature knows how to compensate.
That story has many great messages (that to find them, it takes more time in reading than regular 30 secs – joke). Each will find their own – we know, each of us sees things from the angle they’re standing at, (we percieve things differently). To heal, to add all the pieces of ropes up together in one line, we must keep walking (around). (Giving us possibility to see things from different angles) Walking around keeps us sharp, as a sharpened pencil (from Your story), using our abilities at their best.
Perhaps also walking to the mountains.
Be well,
Liina
PS!
There’s a hidden message in the story (as there often is). And for a reason I have to share the following: sometimes it is not who shares the message, but how the message is presented and the intentions behind it. But all in all, we should always listen to the message, rather than deciding (going along or not going along with) something depending on who’s saying it. More important is how it is said. (And see the intentions behind it)
Thanks again.
Nature is very wise indeed….
♥
Thank you,
Obrigado,
amigo Paulo.
Plunct Plact Zum! :)
Thank you and wish you the same , and also thanks for wonderful insightful posts for this year and have a nice vacation and enjoy!!!
Thank you, Paulo.
To you all:
a good 2010.
May all your dreams grow & stay alive :o)
K
a poem by Andrea Schwarz (*1955):
Often god
very quietly becomes
human
the angles do not sing
the kings just pass
the shepherds stay
with their herds
Often god
very quietly becomes
human
Not noticed
by the public
Not recognized
by humans
in a small 2-room apartment
in a home for asylum seekers
in a hospital room
in nocturnal despair
in the hour of loneliness
in the pleasure in the lover
Often god
very quietly becomes
human
when humans
become
humans
So humans become humans, often?
Thank you. This is a marvellous poem.
Love this story, and The Alchemist! It is my favorite book! I have 4 versions so far!
One question though. Why does it appear at the beginning of the book? Why isn’t it in the latest version of the English translation?
Thank you!
Love Forever,
George
Feliz Navidad y muchisimas gracias por todo.
Thank you, a very beautiful story.
Wishing you continued success!
Much gratitude,
Travis-
Beautiful story to leave us with. Hopefully in the eyes of all of your adoring readers you can see the amazing person that you are.
Wishing you much love and God Bless You for 2010.
Alex
xx
Pablo
Love and Peace from Jesus Christ be upon you in Christmas and New Year 2010.
Blessings!
Precioso yo también lloro por Narciso y gritaré para que vuelva porque él simboliza una clase de Amor y todo Amor es el motor de la vida, del renacer, de la expansión del Universo.
Paulo siempre supistes recoger historias allá donde fueras y supistes darles mayor trascendencia con un punto de vista diferente rayando la totalidad.
Gracias por compartir, gracias por todo lo que nos das, todo lo que nos enseñas, por toda tu dedicación.
Quizás ese Lago te esté esperando allá por los Pirineos y esa cueva espiritual donde haces que los deseos de los demas se conviertan en realidad.
¡Que la inspiración te ilumine y abra las alas y te ayude a volar creando un Mundo en Paz y Prosperidad donde brillen todas las cualidades del Amor!
Feliz Año 2010 para ti para todos los que te rodean y para todos los que se siguen sentando aquí bajo la luz de esta hoguera compartiendo con el Guerrero toda su sabiduría
Like the lake we see ourselves in the words you write. You are welcome to all the encouragement I can muster dear Paulo. Thank-you for your time and the dreams you follow and weave around you.
With love, Daniel
Dear Paulo,
2009 has been a very intense year – the seeds of change have been planted, and a new, beautiful tree will blossom in 2010.
I could see the seeds in your hand, when you were offering them to me in Paris. I have been a good gardener.
Thank you for having been such a great travelmate.
I wish you a very special 2010, so precious and delightful, deep and cheerful, joyful and glorious.
Have a good year, Paulo.
Blessings and hugs to you, your family, your dear ones and everyone who can call herself/himself … “a gardener”.
Love,
Rossana Curri
Thank you, Paulo too! Good luck in the New Year. Don’t freeze yourself! :)
Yes I know this story..
Thank you too for everything.I wish a a nice Christmas.All the best.
Love
Candie