Davos, 11 August 2010
A mountain is composed of tiny grains of earth. The ocean is made up of tiny drops of water. Even so, life is but an endless series of little details, actions, speeches, and thoughts. And the consequences whether good or bad of even the least of them are far-reaching.
Sivananda
Any road followed precisely to its end leads precisely nowhere. Climb the mountain just a little bit to test it’s a mountain. From the top of the mountain, you cannot see the mountain.
Frank Herbert
Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out – it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.
Robert Service
Creative people who can’t help but explore other mental territories are at greater risk, just as someone who climbs a mountain is more at risk than someone who just walks along a village lane.
R. D. Laing
Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.
John Lubbock
I became a loner. I became a mountain man. A lot of those things are very good qualities and they help you do your work, help you be singular and keep the artistic integrity of your work intact, but they don’t make it very easy to live your life.
John Milius
I just want to do God’s will. And he’s allowed me to go to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
I once asked a hermit in Italy how he could venture to live alone, in a single cottage, on the top of a mountain, a mile from any habitation? He replied, that Providence was his next-door neighbor.
Laurence Sterne
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Dear Paulo,
I’m writing this with great joy as you are one of my spiritual teachers.
At the beginning of this year, I manifested my dream of doing work I love and shifted to a career that is related to my purpose as a Lightworker. Your words of wisdom inspired me through this journey. Many blessings to you for that.
From the time I was a kid, I had the ability to see future events, was very sensitive to energy and instinctively followed the path of magic. In short, in the Dark Ages, I would have been called a witch :) . At the same time I had a huge fear of rejection. There was a voice in my head that said if someone disagreed with my views, then I would die. I had a feeling it was related to a past life where I had to endure events similar to those given in Aleph. Since coming out in public with my beliefs, I have had to endure some skepticism and even downright rudeness about my chosen path as a healer. After a particularly discouraging turn of events, I was guided to read “Aleph”. It was very emotional to read it. The paragraph where it says “Those who are burned today, will be exalted” inspired me so much. It gave me the courage to stand by my beliefs and I realized that now it is safe for my to be who I am. Thank you so much for writing those words. “Aleph” was truly a blessing. I wish you a lot of joy in writing your personal legend :)
Love & light,
Rathika, Colombo, Sri Lanka
nunca estamos solos y los que eligen alejarse de la comunidad y vivir aislados es porque es su gusto esa clase de vida ser hermitaños pero su corazòn esta seguro y saben que cuentan con la compañìa y la presencia de Dios segun el caso del blog en cuestiòn
La naturaleza nos enseña a cada instante..es bueno caminar al aire libre, en lugares donde estamos en contacto con la naturaleza, es como conectarse con Dios, es hermoso
Very inspiring but yet what about valleys?!
“Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out – it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.”
the most important thing is to learn how to get the sand out of the shoes as fast as possible; everything that brings you down.
I do not want to deal with the sand anymore.
but it still hurts.
and I still need to get up.
well…
I am alive.
I am human.
How do you keep your shoes so white?
Any tips?
xx
“The great, gashed, half-naked mountain is another of God’s saints. There is no other like him. He is alone in his own character; nothing else in the world ever did or ever will imitate God in quite the same way. That is his sanctity….”
Thomas Merton – New Seeds of Contemplation
Sos muy dulce
Here is another one of my favorites, by RENE DAUMAL, from his 1944 unfinished novel Le Mont Analogue:
“Alpinism is the art of climbing mountains by confronting the greatest dangers with the greatest prudence. Art is used here to mean the accomplishment of knowledge in action.
You cannot always stay on the summits. You have to come down again… So what’s the point? Only this: what is above knows what is below, what is below does not know what is above. While climbing, take note of all the difficulties along your path. During the descent, you will no longer see them, but you will know that they are there if you have observed carefully. There is an art to finding your way in the lower regions by the memory of what you have seen when you were higher up. When you can no longer see, you can at least still know. . .”
One more:
“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”
Edmund Hillary
and the hardest to conquer of all
I like your idea of “looking at our daily lives through the lenses of a game-world.” I am glad you observed children playing Nintendo Games and others,and by doing it yourself you find “that it was exciting,it gave you an instant feedback , you can find alternatives and re-invent the rules”.
I can see the importance of playing games more and more now.
Thank you for that interesting view.
and Yes, like you I believe Internet is “making us more intelligent.”
Happy galloping!
When climbing a mountain, take your time, don’t lose focus of your goal but enjoy every situation. Once you are at the top you won’t see the mountain anymore, and when you come down it will be effortless and you will not appreciate what you see. When you get to the top of the mountain you will find out that there are many mountains around and that yours wasn’t the tallest or the hardest to climb but now you know you are capable of climbing mountains and you could climb any of them if it was only your desire.
Paulo – you are very interesting man! i like your books =)
Hi Paulo!
Thank you so much for the nice photos and the “Manual.” Like a reliable Swiss Army Knife, your Manual for Climbing Mountains is a very useful survival tool.
I love climbing mountains too. Yes, Davos is one of the many places here in Switzerland where you could find mountains to climb and admire God’s magnificent creation before you.
I was in Schatzalp, Davos two years ago and I had a wonderful time up there. The highlight of my hiking was being followed by a lovely bespeckled bird. “He” kept on
flying from one tree to another that lined the hiking trails while chirping a melody in a staccato manner. “He” was my guide for about half an hour. The first thought that my crossed my mind was – “this is the spirit of my deceased husband – accompanying me back to his roots and telling me to be brave and move on.”
I took photos of this beautiful bird and a few weeks later a local magazine featured an article about it. I was overjoyed to know its name – Tannenhäher or the Spotted Nutcracker.
Since I can’t insert a photo here, I’d like to send it to you as an e-mail attachment, if I may.
Till then.
Love,
Tez Riam
Every man worthy of being called the son of man bears his cross and mounts his Golgotha – kazanthzakis
Fantastic!
wonderful。。
Nice ones PC … Replacing mountains with problems makes it much more inspiring .
Thanks,
Nitin
My favorite quote of your post ;-)
Creative people who can’t help but explore other mental territories are at greater risk, just as someone who climbs a mountain is more at risk than someone who just walks along a village lane.
R. D. Laing
God bless the creative people who dare to risk, tackle the mountains and generate “what isn’t” so that we can enjoy this life a bit more.
“Solitude is the nectar of individuality.”
being in nature makes me feel gratitude
Я в этот мир пришел,чтоб видеть солнце/И синий кругозор(Константин Бальмонт,Я в этот мир пришел)
El tio de Einstein tambien se llamaba Jakob.
there was a mountain I loved to climb: it was full of vegetation; went steep from the beginning, sometimes one needed to walk on all 4.
on the top: a meadow with some trees and a basin. basins always feel like a nest, sitting down one feels sheltered but still can see the surrounding.
when going down, the hill felt so steep as if one could not hike down straight on two legs, but had to turn around and go on all four, as one came up. will never understand that it still worked to use only the legs.
PAULO but what will happen if you won and you are not happy??? If the journey is too long??? and the result came too late???
–climbing a mountain is as if becoming part of it….you have the courage to enter the world of a new, unknown way and take up with all its difficulties…the beginning, the walking and the final arrival on the top are of the same intensity….what else can you do..you simply have to go….
I love mountains. I teaches me to be humble in life. For me, it is a metaphor saying, “life will be ups and downs.”
I still get chills reading Dr. King’s speech about the mountaintop just hours before his death, so clearly a high soul knowing it’s work here was done and it would be returning home.
As I climb the mountain it lifts me up.
All the birds have flown up and gone;
A lonely cloud floats leisurely by.
We never tire of looking at each other -
Only the mountain and I.
Li Po
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rBgW_ujM3o&feature=related
from the Sound of Music..- Climb every mountain for all the wols
Climb every mountain, search high and low
Follow every by way, every path you know
Climb every mountain, ford every stream
Follow every rainbow, till you find your dream
A dream that will need, all the love you can give
Everyday of your life, for as long as you live
Climb every mountain, ford every stream
Follow every rainbow, till you find your dream
A dream that will need, all the love you can give
Everyday of your life, for as long as you live
Climb every mountain, ford every stream
Follow every rainbow, till you find your… dream…
———————————————————–
I Wish to every wol to Find his/her mountain and climb it , with faith, confidence, courage, enthousiasm, passion and love
love and gratitude
Annie
For me mountain is a symbol of difficulties. its an obstacle.
there is also a corresponding proverb in greek.
maybe it’s both an obstacle and a way ?
non ho mai scalato una reale montagna.ma se montagna si intende la VITA ,tante montagne ho scalato molte difficili,molto alte,altre meno….Sono consapevole pero’che anche dopo l’ultima scalata, devo prepararmi gia ‘ ad un’altra….spero di mantenere vivo l’entusiasmo e la forza interiore che non devo sottovalutare.Auguro a tutti ,me per prima, di vincere lo sconforto che sempre ci attende al varco,.*suerte,Paulo*a presto……..
I think the mountain has been a symbolic metaphor for life for many thousands of years. It symbolizes the journey through life. Something that can change our life or kill us depending on the day, the weather, wild animals etc. We can climb and reach the top and savior everything that matters along the journey. We can climb and fall at the first cliff, we can fall on the journey back down the mountain but experience guides us and the more mountains you climb the more experience you gain from each step.
I Love the mountain!!!!
xxoo
Yes, it’s magic isn;t?
I like the quote of Laurence Sterne.
Thanx Paulo, nice picture. There is athletic meeting in Davos now I saw on TV.
I just want to do God’s will. And he’s allowed me to go to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
all my love
Never thought Davos was this handsome :)
ps. and thus…am busy climbing my mountain…enjoying being with every grain & detail of the mountain that I find in my path along the way. glad that my 15 year old’s “summer reading” assignment was this book. he Loved it! :o)
paulo,
receiving & reading your book “The Alchemist” nearly 10 years ago, marked a turning point in my life where my “own” awakening began to hasten. little did i know then how my mind/soul/spirit would expand. am grateful for your insights/gifts/abilities in communicating what you feel/see. thankful to have found my way to this blog (or rather, honored it found it’s way to me.)
Beautiful quotes, I loved the most Laurence Sterne, R.D.Laing and John Lubbock.
I just remembered you book, The Fifth Mountain, and the great link in many culture of the mountain being God(s) dwelling, or a place where we can be near God. Why? The majesty and purity of the nature make our soul vibrate? And us more open to feel things above ? I dont know, but the truth is many times we feel like that, once we climb a mountain. And is thought people, like Paulo exampla of the hermit, who lives on top of mountain in respect of nature, are near God more than others…
Thats quite interesting. ( not to mention the famous axis mundi symbol…)
“Charactere de la semaine : la montagne. “Blog de Paulo Coelho”
“Une montagne est composee de petits grains de terre. L’ocean est fait de petites gouttes d’eau. Pourtant la vie est une suite illimitee d’une serie de petits details, d’actions, de paroles et de pensees. Et les consequences,qu’elles soit bonnes ou mauvaises, de la moindre d’entre elles sont tres importantes.” Sivananda
“N’importe quelle route que l’on suive de facon precise jusqu’au bout n’aboutit a rien. Gravis la montagne juste un peu pour evaluer que c’est une montagne. Du haut de la montagne, tu ne peux pas voir la montagne.” Frank Herbert
“Deviens le maitre de tes contrarietes sans importance et conserve tes energies pour les choses importantes qui en valent la peine. Ce n’est pas la montagne devant qui t’epuise – c’est le grain de sable dans ta chaussure – Robert Service
“Les personnes creatives qui ne peuvent pas s’empecher d’explorer les autres territoires mentaux s’exposent a un plus grand risque, tout comme celui qui gravit une montagne prend plus de risques que celui qui marche le long de la ruelle du village.” R.D. Laing
“La terre et le ciel, les forets et les champs, les lacs et les rivieres, la montagne et la mer sont d’excellents professeurs et enseignent a certains d’entre nous plus que ce que nous pouvons apprendre dans les livres.” John Lubbock
“Je suis devenu un solitaire. Je suis devenu un homme de la montagne. Beaucoup de ces choses sont des qualites tres bonnes et elles vous aident dans votre travail , vous aident a etre singulier et a garder l’integrite artistique de votre travail intact, mais elles ne rendent pas la tache facile pour vivre votre vie.” John Milius
“Je veux simplement faire la volonte de Dieu. Et il m’a permis d’aller sur la montagne. Et j’ai jete un coup d’oeil et j’ai vu la terre promise. Je ne vais peut-etre pas y arriver avec vous, mais je veux que vous sachiez ce soir que nous, en tant que peuple arriverons a la terre promise.” Martin Luther King
“Un jour j’ai demande a un hermite en Italie comment il s’aventurait a vivre seul, dans une maison en haut d’une montagne, eloigne de toute habitation? Il a repondu que la providence etait son voisin du palier.” Laurence Sterne
‘I just want to do God’s will. And he’s allowed me to go to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.Martin Luther King, Jr.’
WE, AS A PEOPLE will get THERE: back home, HEAVEN. Because we are ONE and until we all do God’s WILL we will be coming back in the .. circle of LIFE, climbing .. mountains and learning the lesson of life, LOVE.
LOVE,
Thelma xxx
Beautiful, peaceful photo, with fresh … air! T.
I enjoied those very much, you didnt have your own words of thought about the mountain? your surrounding is very pretty as well, where are you exactly?
A mountain makes me think of strength. But you can also find vegetation on a mountain. It is supportive as well.
what a character :o)
can smell the moss.
Estupendo subir montañas ¿Qué montaña es?
Se llama Jakobhorn (creo que Jakob en este caso es Santiago!)