Father Zeca, from the Church of the Resurrection in Copacabana, tells of how, when he was travelling on a bus, he suddenly heard a voice telling him to get up and preach the importance of love right there and then.
Zeca started talking to the voice: ‘They’ll think I’m ridiculous, this isn’t the place for a sermon,’ he said.
But something inside him insisted that he speak.
‘I’m too shy, please don’t ask me to do this,’ he begged.
The inner impulse insisted.
Then he remembered his promise – to surrender himself to all his internal calls. He got up – dying of embarrassment – and began to talk about the Gospel.
Everyone listened in silence. He looked at each passenger in turn and very few looked away.
He said everything that was in his heart, ended his sermon and sat down again.
He still does not know what task he fulfilled that day, but he is absolutely certain that he did fulfil a task.
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Can You Guide ? Is Deciding for Marriage too a matter of Impulse ! somebody said to me long back ! Is that right ! Help ! A Bachelor !
Honestly the thought alone that this message was communicated here was exactly the ripple effect a voice that wise would have anticipated a burst of honesty and heartfelt compassion would bring.Speaking of what’s on the heart is the real true gift communication has brought to the interpersonal realm of coexistence humanity and community.Awesome share Paulo!
Thank you Mr. Coelho,
It is great to hear what comes from the impulses within the heart of a good man. Love has to be shared and what a great task Father Zaza fulfilled
Just hope more find the good within and starts follow their bodily impulses to share.
Thomas
Great.. I loved a lot, if only we could do like he did , we could fulfill a lot of unknown tasks that are important in life for reasons that only God the almighty knows the wisdom behind them.
Rawaa’
Syria, Lattakia
salam
thank u Paulo for all the books that u’ve written. It inspired and motivate me alot.
thank u Paulo for writing such an inspirational book. I hope all my anxiety and worries will lessen even im quite frustrated at times.
*Acting on impulse is what I have to do anytime I decide to share anything about me in this blog.
*Acting on impulse is what I really love most, but that’s a secret.
The way it feels it is priceless but very often I’d rather to not look back to the scene of crime.
*Acting on impulse it is what makes my day a great day no matter the price I have to pay sometimes.
*Acting on impulse is what is changing my personality into a better person, a truer me closer to my dreams, so I won’t stop trying, I won’t stop doing that over and over again…
*Acting on impulse it will always remain an act on impulse, it is meant to be so and no matter how hard you try it will only help you in some ways, but thinking that you’ll feel less shy or more fearless they you are just deceiving yourself. So watch out from any bad surprise. Oops! :P
I just can’t even remember about how many times I wanted to say words I wanted to say and wanted to walk path I didn’t walk, and about how many times I just close my eyes and just did it.
Now, there are moments when my mouth nor my feet won’t obey my mid and just follow my heart…
*Acting on impulse it is what makes the difference.
Well at one condition I guess, acting on impulse of course, but heart’s impulses…
Poor father, who knows how he must have been feeling.
Sometimes we just have to get used to that.
Act on impulse and just have faith that you did what you had to even if there’s no sign around you to show you that.
But I have this belief that even silence is a great answer, and there always something which will show you that.
And if there is a bad critic around well one should never forget that critics should be taken only for their good qualities. Strengthen your faith in what you believe or just teach you some little thing you didn’t knew, but not stop you from your internal calls. :)))
Love
Olta
so true, Olta! thanks for your detailed comment.
especially:
“Acting on impulse is what I really love most, but that’s a secret.
The way it feels it is priceless but very often I’d rather to not look back to the scene of crime.”
(giggle)
it actually looks as if the priest is not really impulsive (he thinks & thinks) :o) but well, it really may depend on the personality how intense it can be :o)
just his action alone counts, i.e., interrupting a rigid routine behavior (riding a bus) that actually looks everywhere the same. just doing this is showing interconnectness :o).
bringing a direct spiritual touch to it, wow! sometimes I think each interaction has a spiritual component anyway …
the reactions I could observe are either turning towards somebody or turning the back to the person.
Buenas tardes señor Coelho, con toda la pena del mundo le digo que nunca he leido un libro suyo, pero conozco de usted ya que mi hermana tiene todos sus libros, los cuales pienso leer pronto. Me animé a escribirle ya que checando mi cuenta de twitter, apareció el link de este blog, y fue grata mi sorpresa ya que hoy vivi algo similar a lo que relata. Amo a una persona desde hace 4 años, lamentablemente las circunstancias y mi timidez me impidieron conocerlo mas, lo cual estoy sumamente arrepentido, pero dios sabe por que hace las cosas. Justo hoy en la madrugada, senti el impulso de escribirle, cosa que jamas me permiti y talvez el alcohol me ayudo a hacerlo (ya que habia ingerido unas hras antes) asi que me decidi a escribirle loq sentia, las palabras fluyeron del corazon, con honestidad pero siento que no obtendré respuesta, por que se como es su caracter, y por que tambien asumo la idea de que talvez el no me corresponda, aunque sea todo lo que yo quiero, y a quien mas respeto, admiro y amo. He intentado con otras personas y aun asi no me olvido de el, no es obsesion, pero siento que algo me conecta a el, sueño con el, y juusto los dias que pasa eso, lo veo o tngo noticias suyas (el vive en otro estado). Hace poco me enferme muuy grave y tenia una fiebre altisima y rece y rece y de repente tuve una alucinacion o vision de el alado mio, cuidandome y hablandome, como si ya estuvieramos juntos pero de mas edad, llegue a sentir que realmente estaba conmigo, que me besaba, lo vi tan claro y senti esa emocion que se siente al ver al ser amado y eso hizo que bajara la temperatura y mejorara. No se si mi angel tomo su forma y no se ya que hacer. Siento que el es mi otra mitad pero no se si yo sea la de el. Lamentablemente tengo muchos obstaculos, uno de ellos es saber si el es gay y me pregunto, que es pasa si yo le corresponda a el, pero el no a mi? Que libro escrito por usted me podria ayudar? Disculpe mi atrevimiento y si no contesta lo comprendere pero almenos ya habre expresado el semtimiento que tengo. Gracias. :(
Quando saberemos que a missão foi cumprida?
Quando o coração fica leve e vazio, pronto para encher-se de novo com outros desafios.
Como vc consegue distinguir que um impulso é um bom impulso?
Já aconteceu de ter um impulso mto forte, agir e depois se arrepender? Eu já.
E lendo o q vc escreve vou aprendendo a entender os Sinais.
Q Maria siga na frente.
Deus te ilumine Guerreiro
Amo vc.
Sometimes, God manifests his will on people and places that can not be chosen.
Sérgio Coelho
Very Brave thing to do… I used to talk to my students sometimes, when they will be sad .. or they asked me about if I do believe or not in God!
I like this post so much!
Thank you! Love, Gabriela Romaria
Thank God that people like you exist.
acting on impulse is something i can never get myself to do. i sit thinking a 100 times before anything i do! i wish i could rid myself off all my inhibitions…
Dear Paulo, Thank you for being a constant inpiration.
I woke up this morning startled from a dream; An elderly woman came up to me singing “you can do no wrong when you do right”. I have never seen this woman in my life but I woke up convinced that she was delivering a message to me. I then felt the urge to go to your blog so much that I did not even wait to turn on the computer and logged on from my mobile.
For the rest of the morning I kept thinking about this post and my dream, something inside kept repeating “the message” so I shared with my love ones and now here: “You can do no wrong when you do right”
peace and love to all
That was beautiful! I’ve been “that person” on the bus before; but, I can say I have no regrets. It’s not always easy to follow your heart, but the elderly woman you dreamt of was a wise messenger, indeed. Don’t drop the ball… It’s always better to be safe than sorry for not saying what your heart has sincerely urged you to, even if it’s not the “right time.” Think of it like this: It may be that what you say will have a greater impact on someone who hears it unexpectedly, or at such an “impromtu” time; and that’s the very reason our hearts compel us to “do right” in the first place.
Don’t be afraid to be “that person.” Because that is who you TRULY ARE.
Blessings
most of our impulses are acquired and many of them are prejudicial. my experience is, we can do the world a great favor, when we treat our inner conflicts attentively, and learn to not take sides but observe them non-judgmental.
LOL!!!
A trick question that my friend asked me last night. Please, all who are into this – PARTICIPATE!!!
An assignment:
Look at the green BUS on the picture. In which direction is the bus moving to, left or right? And if so, why?
HAVE FUN!!!
Love,
L
To me teh bus appears quite stationary, is it moving ?
now that u ask let me look closely, hey it still ain’t moving, but if u must ask it’s drivers seat appears towards right, the big bumper and the decorative dot at top maybe.
LOl with luv
Wow! I am able to see the world today with a different perspective…my eyes have changed for they are communicating with the voice of my soul. Today is a strange day, I can feel it. Everything in my surrounding is changing, and I can notice the changes because I am taking the time to notice. Just like I am taking my time to re-read the Pilgrimage for the 4th time. Each time is a different adventure and each page delivers an exquisite Journey of adventure and excitement. I am not sure why you never talk about the Plilgrimage, I love your book Paulo. I love it because it is full of knowledge, a knowledge available to all who are willing to open their heart. I am still a long way for I have only read and re-read the first few pages.
Thank you so much for sharing your gift with us. Love to you my friend
Monica
To listen to that inner voice takes courage but if we trust that the message is coming from our higher, more intelligent self then we are never wrong. This is beautifully illustrated by Father Zeca’s resulting experience. Thank you.
I enjoy it. Good text to read.
I don’t know why I’m here and I love this story.
Once there was a little girl and an older man. They met each other – both at the edge of their lifes.
He had just another six months to life and she lost her trust in everything – lost just step by step another person she had in life.
He belived in her and she, strange to say, belived in him, in a miracle, in dreams – in a kind of affection, in a kind of love that break the wall, that cure.
Both were right.
He was nearly healed and she started to go a path, her own path.
To imagine what had happend
In loving memory
A famous priest from Brazil,Padre Marcelo,said:
“Let God work on us when He wants and where He wants.”
Nice…I always thought sermons are not only for being performed inside a church, we all think God is everywhere every time. So it was ok doing that in the moment and ridiculous was thinking it would be ridiculous..Why one should feel ashamed to preach about Love? I dont get it…
I am happy finally he did the right thing.
I think that is possible to link this post with the one of Veronika.
Father Zeca making his sermon listened to the voice of his heart. And follow Him. According to social convention it could seem a form of madness! But for me is just what a healthy man should do!
As you said
“If only everyone could know and live with their inner craziness… people would be fairer and happier”
Paolo
I appreciate again this morning reading your words. What you write, I know but resist most of the time, and what you write gives like a boost, a something that comes like a hand in my hand, like a wind that gently pushes me … and that is why I come in relation with you through your Blog each morning, having made it part of my morning ritual, taking always the time to take your words and find what they, for me, try to tell me.
I so am often caught in that dialogue with this inner voice, often caught with that mind and his views, principles, concepts, etc, which take their roots in the past, a past that is in fact totally distorded, false, linked to experiences and learnings in which I totally agreed to without knowing I was agreeing and putting faith in lies. I am caught … no I let myself be trapped. I have the possibility to push the door which is opened but I often prefer not to go beyond. I resist to the voice more than I listen and act upon it. I am selective, which I should not because my selection is based on a rational that evaluates, and the rational will never be able to create new until it frees the heart and let the adventure take place. Funny because each morning I open the Bible and read a passage which opens before me, and this morning it is the passage about the lamp and the measure. “Be careful to what you hear. The measure which you serve yourself will serve as a measure for yourself and you will be given even more.” What I hear are my own limitations, my own judgments, things that serve as a measure that prevents me to act upon my inner voice. And even if I act upon it, still, if I am not aware of the measure that is present inside me, in my own life I will have the result from it. So, I do like reading this morning that he has that conviction that he certainly did fulfill something.
Then he remembered his promise – to surrender himself to all his internal calls. He got up – dying of embarrassment – and began to talk …
This speaks to me a lot at the moment, and I, as a Warrior of Light, must fight the right fight, which is against the embarrassment, the fear of judgment, the fear of being labeled, the fear of disturbing and destabilizing the other, which are fears and states that are linked to past experiences of dependence and need of the other to feel security, physically and psychologically. For if I stand connected to my promise, my intuition, my inner voice, I deeply know that I am doing something that makes sense, whereas in not acting upon it I just keep alive the tree of knowledge inside me, the roots of the past which need to be abandoned at the cross in order to let the truth be.
He still does not know what task he fulfilled that day, but he is absolutely certain that he did fulfill a task
No ovation, no recognizance from other humans, nothing … silence … for in doing so one does not evaluate if his task is a success or a failure based on others’ reaction, others acceptance or hurt, reactions, etc … but a conviction that he certainly have made a difference … if not for the other, for him … but he knows that it is not only for him … it is for him, the other, the Universe … a seed … a seed that will grow, that will be able to grow because he has been an instrument, an important element in the result that will appear … and also, he made grow inside him his own tree of life and stop letting grow the tree of the knowledge of good or bad.
Love, Jojo.
Dearest Yajna, Congratulations for being able to step outside yourself with courage! You were obedient and directly effected this woman’s life. How inspiring! We should all try to build more and tear down less. I try to surrender when the Universe directs me. It is not always easy. I have sometimes not been open, especially when I cannot see the benefit. I guess that is where my Faith steps in and takes over. Father Zeca’s story is more powerful in that he did not want to preach then and there and begged no. He put aside all of his ego to fulfill the call. So often on this blog, we see timely messages that we need. Isn’t this our dear Paulo also obeying the voice? The Universe knows when we need the lesson/message and uses Paulo as an outlet to speak to us. Thanks to all!! I love you
“Apoi, el a adus aminte de promisiunea lui – să se predea la toate apelurile interne.”
Adică pur şi simplu trebuie să acţionezi în funcţie de ceea ce simţi! Niciodată nu vei şti dinainte ce vei face într-o anumită situaţie! Acţionezi din impuls! Sfaturile pe care le primeşti sunt doar nişte imbolduri care te ajută să acţionezi mai repede, în ceea ce ştii chiar tu că trebuie, şi vrei să faci!
Dar nu întotdeauna însă, acţionând din impuls, vei ieşi şi bine dintr-o situaţie. Mai sunt o serie de factori care concură şi care uneori pot domoli impulsul, astfel încât în final să obţinem un rezultat pe măsura aşteptărilor. De altfel tu eşti singurul care îţi cunoşti cel mai bine limitele, iar dacă te iubeşti şi te respecţi, acţionezi în consecinţă ! Să îţi pese de orice, şi oricine, care promite ceva şi face altceva ! Doar aşa îţi vei găsi liniştea interioară!
Să fiţi binecuvântaţi ! Pacea şi iubirea fie cu voi !
Cu multă dragoste pentru toţi, Mariana
Scuze…E de fapt: Apoi el îşi aminti promisiune făcută: aceea de a ceda impusurilor sale interioare.
‘Acting on impulse’ is a part of my personality and temperament. When I was younger this attitude had driven me to unnecessary difficulties and misunderstandings.. Age and wisdom has taught me to act ‘on impulse’ but also to listen in advance to my Intuition and Heart and to follow the Signs. To most important is by acting to avoid hurting others, but ourselves too.
LOVE,
Thelma xxx
So, they are, the Priest. Nice. Very nice.
dear Paulo,
It is just like a writer/artist does; he or she writes/ puts his or her creativity into work, there is no purpose at first. But then as said in the story of Father Zeca, We just do it. And in some internal part of our soul silently fell satisfied for fulfilling some unknown purpose, and will thank the Highest One for enabling us through the internal call.
Love,
Anu
My friend has overseen such thing, she said that it was weird but that she (and probably many others on the same bus) had needed to hear what he had to say. He spoke of hope and love.
Yeah, we have to do “crazy” things…
~*~*~*~
The more we give ourselves to the feelings, the more open we are to life… (we listen to our heart)
And sometimes we are surprised what a few words we thought we had to say or acts we had to act did for someone. And I guess we don’t really have to know, because we should be able to give freely. But it surely is egoistically nice to sometimes know we make a difference.
Yeah, we’re never alone.
Love,
L.
i did something very similar today morning. am glad i did that for i felt true happiness. i could feel the love of god.i love you god! :)
It is doing what you're called for to do. By the end of the day you knew you did a full task when fullfillment is what causes you to sleep soundly.
Cheers! :)
Sometimes our very purpose already fulfills some kind of higher purpose that we don’t know about.
I’m amazed at Father Zeca’s faith. Impulse or no impulse, I don’t think I would have been able to do it.
Objectively i see this in 2 points of view. You can think of him as one crazy person who just had to let the crazy out and not listen or be one of the people who listen and try to digest his words. Perhaps he fulfilled something which is to get people to think about their life. I know I myself have thought of some of the words I hear from others. Unfortunately, I would have to admit that I would have been one of the people who would turn away and not listen.
May God give us the clarity and innocence to listen to our inner voice for it’s God trying to tell us something which we cannot understand at the moment but which has tremendous value in shaping out lives.
Love & Prayers
Juhi.
I think everybody who continues to read Paulo’s blog would not think twice about serving God. It is constantly in our heart and mind. The difficulty maybe in sharing it with the world, family, community, because most people can only take on one life at a time(theirs), and the world that man has created. God’s messages is about fixing where humans have gone wrong. To bring together some social happiness.
Thanks for the beautiful story Yajna.
Anlao !
just cool it lady ! it’s all in your mind anyway; no harm in becomming insane once in a while, it helps maintain sanity. By what u have dared to write, u have shown that u r brave ! have u read Paulo’s warrior of the light. Take a break from your ‘love’, youe wants, u’r desires ! just a break ! read wol and then maybe u can become sanely insane.
even though I know advise is the most given and least taken entity, here I go, for I too am insane !! ha ha ha
Yajna
Thank you for you story. I love this blog not only for Paulo’s stories’ but also for the stories of the people participating in it.
Anlao
One of my favourite sayings is “Live as if you were going to live forever and as if you were going to die tomorrow” …
Love, love, love
Dearest Paulo,
Do you have any idea of the timing of your stories? Right now, when every inch of myself wants to act on impulse, every single particle in me except my mind? And this paralyses me, even more than I’ve been stunned for the past months.
Do you have any idea of the timing of your stories?
I think he is calling me. But I am not sure. Last time I thought so I asked him and he said I’m assuming wrong, he has nothing to do with me. But why don’t I dare verify this time? Oh, it’s going to take all the strength in the world to survive the next week. For I want him madly even though I know he’s not right for me and I’m not right for him.
Do you have any idea of the timing of your stories?
I thought I was past this challege. I should have moved on. I was supposed to move on, love is for fools anyway. I am a stupid, stupid woman indeed.
How can little things, such as a song, or a word, hit one so powerfully?
Funny how my favourite quote in the whole world just became the most hatred one: “Life presents many challenges. Living is one of them”.
Do you have any idea of the timing of your stories?
(I am afraid I cannot get trough this without becoming insane)
Let’s talk about something else, not impulse, ok? Let’s talk about God, or patience, or wisdom, or stillness, or right choices, or winning battles with wrecklessness.
As always, sincerely,
Anlao
bo0om paulo,
i can feel the throb of this universal vibration. sometimes i try to imagine what would it be like , if god ( the concept )has out grown itself beyond the infinite, and now has spilled over on humanity. we are becoming one mind. its so beautiful,sadly its tainted with individual greed. we should transcend this minor insecurity that we were brainwashed into when young.
love….
bo0om
fLUXman
Nice come back, Aquarius…..In the same vein, that makes me not a lowly artist, but a Chromo-linguist (who doesn’t know what she’s saying half the time!!)
Love all
Monsieur Paulo,
Have you ever had any of these experiences yourself?
I have, but I looked the other way.
And other times, it was the wrong voice telling me to do these things and, of course, that was the voice I listened to.
I guess it was just a coincidental action of neurons in various axons on the way to mind, but…
Who is teling them when to have a coincidence :-) ?
Every little thing that we do for God, we’re given a big appreciation from Him. It’s the Holy Spirit who talked to Father Zeca. He was required to surrender, to just leave evrything to God. He did. And for that, miracles started blessing others.
Dearest Paulo
There are moments in life that you feel the need to do things that you not really sure why you ment to do. It is a need that burns in your soul and all you can do is use that inspiration to do what it was ment to. These moments are life changing, maybe not your life, but most definitely someone else’s. You could even be saving a life by being true to who you are, so if you ever have that feeling, go for it. Do what you feel, even if the world may think you’re crazy.
A few months ago i got very inspired one night to write to a lecturer of mine. Truth is, i hardly went to any lecturers of hers because they weren’t complusory.(Actually i remember going to sleep alot during that block..lol)
Anyway, i went to one and found her to be nice. Very nice. Over nice. Kinda werid she’s so nice. So naturally i went back to bed as soon i was out for a break. I spent one full lesson with her in a practical (which was complusory, lol) and i watched how she had uplifted the spirits of so many students just by encouraging them in her class. One of the girls didn’t perform a task very well in front of the class. But instead of correcting her directly she told her she was very good, and she started to show her how she’d do it. She uplifted his girl’s esteem so much she was able react confidently in fron the class the second time round. She has this unbelieviable positive energy, this sense of unconditional love i haven’t seen in a long time. I was really impressed and it was kinda unusual to have this sudden need to mail her.. well after the block was well over. But i had to do it, was driving insane and i seriously didn’t know why. So i did, from an anonymous email address explaining to her my admiration for her and how i pretty much got inspired by one and half lessons with her. I also thanked her for being, and told her to stay true to who she is. The next day i get this email. She said she’d been waiting for a sign because her husband wanted her to leave work. She’d been struggling for days and she called me her angel for that day. I always wonder why i was compelled to make her stay, i just figured that somewhere out there some student needs to be inspired by her. I think that when we are true to who we are, and we feel this inspiration to do something, we should do, trust in the universe and see where it goes. Maybe that feeling, of deep inspiration is the universe saying, “Do me this favour,” or “Today’s your day to be an angel.” Truth is, in that moment, i did feel like an angel. For in that moment, i felt more in tuned with the universe than ever before- and it was something that i just had to do.
Thank you for being
Yajna
truly amazing inspiration. thanks a tonnes for sharing this experience with all of us. it seems to end all confusions and turmoils of our souls. it just makes it so logical.
love
It is doing what you’re called for to do. By the end of the day you knew you did a full task when fullfillment is what causes you to sleep soundly.
Cheers! :)
“Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” by Vaclav Havel.
Dear Paulo,
I think – these impulses,these special moments when we feel we should do something,especially if this is something good are from SOMEBODY greater than us.
So if you have this feeling you should definitily do it.
As miracles happen to you, you can also be a part of making them for somebody.
I’m pretty sure he did fulfill a task , sometimes we don’t realize them at the moment. Each day we live we do things we don’t necessarily understand but they could make a difference on someone else, even if at that time we don’t realize. So I say go ahead an act on impulse and trust it.
darn, too many :o)
:D It isn’t only the dot on the top but the shape on the right side of the bus is different. I’d say it seems much more like a van to me with that round part at its right side.
And probably it is on the road but it is waiting at the traffic light for the green light to appear. :P
Funny funny funny!! heheh
Love
Olta
The wheels on the bus go round and round round and round.
Looking at the gadget.
Now the Inspector from the RAC declared it fit for work.
No gas emissions.
No petrol leaks.
Definitively fit for the environment.
It is of a sturdy make.
The geometrical shapes have a knob, you can unscrew them and solve the puzzle.The task requires concentration, eye and hand co-ordination, and problem-solving skills. you will learn the colour and the shape of things.
The wheels will take you anywhere when you have mastered the task.
They are one of Daddys and grandpas favorite toys.
XX
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