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’
source: “Like the Flowing River” by Paulo Coelho
_________________________________
A história do lápis
O menino olhava a avó escrevendo uma carta. A certa altura, perguntou:
- Você está escrevendo uma história que aconteceu conosco? E por acaso, é uma história sobre mim?
A avó parou a carta, sorriu, e comentou com o neto:
- Estou escrevendo sobre você, é verdade.Entretanto, mais importante do que as palavras, é o lápis que estou usando. Gostaria que você fosse como ele, quando crescesse.
O menino olhou para o lápis, intrigado, e não viu nada de especial.
- Mas ele é igual a todos os lápis que vi em minha vida!
-Tudo depende do modo como você olha as coisas. Há cinco qualidades nele que, se você conseguir mantê-las, será sempre uma pessoa em paz com o mundo:
“Primeira qualidade: você pode fazer grandes coisas, mas não deve esquecer nunca que existe uma Mão que guia seus passos. Esta mão nós chamamos de Deus, e Ele deve sempre conduzi-lo em direção à Sua vontade.
“Segunda qualidade: de vez em quando eu preciso parar o que estou escrevendo, e usar o apontador. Isso faz com que o lápis sofra um pouco, mas no final, ele está mais afiado. Portanto, saiba suportar algumas dores, porque elas o farão ser uma pessoa melhor.
“Terceira qualidade: o lápis sempre permite que usemos uma borracha para apagar aquilo que estava errado. Entenda que corrigir uma coisa que fizemos não é, necessariamente algo mau, mas algo importante para nos manter no caminho da justiça.
“Quarta qualidade: o que realmente importa no lápis não é a madeira ou sua forma exterior, mas o grafite que está dentro. Portanto, sempre cuide daquilo que acontece dentro de você.
“Finalmente, a quinta qualidade do lápis: ele sempre deixa uma marca. Da mesma maneira, saiba que tudo que você fizer na vida, irá deixar traços, e procure ser consciente de cada ação”.
fonte: Ser como um rio que flui, Paulo Coelho
_________________________________
La historia del lapiz
<
(gracias a la persona que hizo este clip)
trecho del libro “Ser como un rio que fluye”
i have just read “the Pencil” how very true , what a wonderful way ,of telling a little boy , the way of life .Thankyou Pualo x
this one is a very good article i ever read..actually im not a reader but when i started to read one of your blog interest within me arose..thanks… your article is not just an ordinary article..it’s amazing..with a very deep sense..
FANY
Hay cosas que solemos darle poca importancia, según nosotros Por ser pequeñas o por no tener un valor grandioso…sin embargo he ahí donde esta el verdadero valor y significado de la vida…apoco amigos????…todo tiene su razón de ser….
Me uno al lápiz….
Chlapec sa díval ako babička píše list. Potom sa spýtal: „Píšeš o niečom, čo sa prihodilo nám? A nie je to náhodou príbeh o mne?“
Babička prestala písať, usmiala sa a odpovedala vnukovi: „Máš pravdu, píšem o tebe. Ale dôležitejšie než slová je ceruzka, ktorou píšem. Chcela by som, aby si sa jej podobal, až budeš veľký.“
Chlapec sa na ceruzku zvedavo pozrel, ale nevidel na nej nič zvláštne.
„Je predsa rovnaká ako všetky ostatné ceruzky, ktoré som kedy videl.“
„Všetko záleží na tom, ako sa na veci dívaš. Ceruzka má 5 vlastností, a keď si ich udržíš i ty, bude ti na svete vždy dobre.
Prvá vlastnosť: môžeš robiť veľké veci, ale nikdy nesmieš zabudnúť, že existuje Ruka, ktorá riadi tvoje kroky. Tejto ruke hovoríme Boh a On ťa má vždy viesť podľa svojej vôle.
Druhá vlastnosť: čas od času musíme prestať písať a použiť strúhadlo. To ceruzke trochu ubližuje, ale je potom ostrejšia. Preto musíš občas zniesť nejakú bolesť, ktorá z teba učiní lepšieho človeka.
Tretia vlastnosť: ceruzka nám vždy umožní, aby sme vzali gumu a vymazali chybu. Uvedom si, že opraviť niečo, čo sme urobili, nemusí byť zlé, ale je to naopak dôležité, aby sme zotrvali na správnej ceste.
Štvrtá vlastnosť: na ceruzke nie je dôležité drevo alebo vonkajší tvar, ale tuha, ktorá je vo vnútri. Preto vždy dávaj pozor na to, čo sa deje v tvojom vnútri.
A nakoniec piata vlastnosť: ceruzka vždy zanecháva stopu. Rovnako tak nič, čo v živote robíš, nezostane bez následkov, a preto si buď dobre vedomý toho, čo činíš.“
Si el ser humano entendiera,el verdadero y principal mandamiento que Jesus nos enseño amar a Dios sobre todas las cosas,somos responsables de nuestra vida y que nuestra mision es manifestar el amor de Dios en la tierra,entrar en contacto con nuestro interior no para criticarnos,sino para mejorar,seriamos los verdaderos ayudantes que Dios necesita para vencer el mal
your 20sec read:Pencil is really superb..u described the different way of life..love the way how you compared life to the pencil… i want to say thank you…am in the middle of chaos and it enlightens me… thank you so much..!!!
its a gr8 thought but sumtimes wat we r writing is dependent on the quality of paper ofcourse both when meet n of good quality then wat we r witing matters we should write in proper way n same is expected in life too action n reaction is dependent on circumstances
Gracias Paulo……me esforzaré por ser un lápiz, siempre aprendo algo de ti, tengo las agendas en donde vienen pensamientos, a diario uno me da un mensaje positivo. Hoy empece a leer el libro del Alquimista, lo suspendi por trabajo pero hoy en la noche lo terminare. Te admiro Paulo y Dios te bendiga, gracias por existir y enseñarnos siempre algo bueno y nuevo.
Saludos…..desde Saltillo, Coah. México.
je ne trouve pas des paroles assez fortes pour vous remercier, à chaque fois que je lie des hitoires sur votre blog, je me souviens de les avoir déjà lu, effectivement tout ce que vous avez ecrit m’a marqué, et a complètemet changer ma façon de penser et de voir les choses, jai appris a etre plus tolerante et genereuses, vos livres m’aident enormément,au bout d’une année jai pu lire huits de vos lvres, c’est devenu indispensable!
By using Pencil we have the powers to put our thoughts of mind on a paper; share and express our ideas. we just have to keep a check how much to share and how much to express. Man has created pencil by getting idea from God’s creattions in the world .Human body is also like a pencil,intead of lead we have souls and we have to go through the sharping process to modify or update ourselves as you have already mentioned .
I like in the way that He thinks and write, he,s a master my dream if one day I can meet him.
Great…
God is handling so many pencils at a time to create his own masterpiece. So whenever the pencil treads the wrong path, it simply means, God is concentrating more on the other hand. It doesn’t mean God has to be blamed for it, because God always provides us with the eraser to undo the wrong doings, It is upto us, whether to wait for the eraser to do it action..or keep on scribbing, when the hand is busy using the eraser.
A very inspiring note! Thank you, Mr Coelho.
the 5th point sounds true. As for the rest, there is no need to suffer to become happier, or better person. We suffer because we don’t understand how things are, and our true nature is happy, brave and kind. The rest is like the dust on the mirror.
and when we do bad or silly things – who is responsible, us or that “hand”? it’s a convenient position, not to take responsibility for your actions, but not quite mature..
Truly masterful! Only you could possibly explain life so simply yet masterfully.
Paulo, today I forwarded this piece to a very special friend who I believe will make connection. He is at a low point in his life right now, and hopefully receiving this little read will have an uplifting affect. Sometimes we just need to know we are not alone.
Peace, Maestro!
I would add one more quality. It’s the fact that a pencil will not last forever. The ofter you sharpen it, the smaller it becomes. Therefore one should not spread oneself too thin.
i will always be the kind of pencil that is “most of the time” consious of his marks…Question: shouldn’t i have the right to follow my will rather than to follow the path that is being given?
my daughter had once told me to read the story “THE PENCIL”
by Paulo Coelho ..and today i got the chance..lovely..simply,
watch your words n actions..they leave a mark…thank you so much,sir…God bless you
Wooop wooop!! Lefthanders.
Nice piece – uma boa
Thanks for this! A couple of years ago, I received a wonderful gift from my very good friends, and guess what it is? A pencil!