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At the end of the forty days of deluge, Noah came out of the ark. He was filled with hope, but all he found outside was death and destruction.
Noah protested:
“Almighty God, if You knew the future, why did You create man? Just for the pleasure of punishing him?”
A triple perfume rose up into the sky: incense, the perfume of Noah’s tears, and the aroma of his actions. Then God replied:
“The prayers of a just man are always heard. I will tell you why I did this: so that you will understand your work.
“You and your descendents will always be rebuilding a world which came from nothing – and in this way we share the work and the consequences.
“Now we are all responsible.”
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I like these stories because they travel to inside, to find examples.
It does rain on everyone and the sun shines for everyone too. Only not always at the same time.
Can see how this applies personally, to strive wholeheartedly to make life better. I am a work in progress!
After the rain, comes the rainbow.
‘When we love, we always strive to become better than we are.
When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too’ – The Alchemist
Thankful for loving friends, I love you!! And my angels too!!
Love and Gratitude,
Jane xo
Good morning,
Synchronicity, we experienced a beautifully drenching rain storm – about 6 hours long – in the desert last evening. God put an exclamation point to this lovely story. ;-j
freedom is responsibility!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!that’s enough to say!!
wish you could have the comment #-key on the top again …
one comes back to your post – I actually fairly often – then knows the story, & just wants to enter the comments right away.
LoL
I still do not like when the christian religion becomes so patriarchal. god shows his “no mercy” or “revenge” ….
but I like the picture, all noah arch’s pictures. positive. a new chapter starts, they are all in pairs, finally they can have the earth under their feet again. the sun is shining.
<3
since meeting my sons father the ark and noah have appeared many times to me in ways I have never before noticed. I hope I understand this piece as I am meant to. Thank you, again. with love xx
Luvio ;)
Can you please write about something uplifting ;-) Noahs Ark is depressing. And I think it´s a bad way of God using a flood … why not use the magic wand and make people better in several ways *LOL*
Love Jessica
EXISTEM MAIS COISAS ENTRE O CÉU E A TERRA DO QUE POSSA IMAGINAR NOSSA VÃ FILOSOFIA . – SHASPEARE
la responsabilita’ è alla base del nostro essere,del vivere.
Bóg uczynił świat odpowiedzialnym za siebie i świat.
Sometimes when I watch these disasters and see the sadness for the ones lost I in my sensitive self feel horror and sadness for such loss. I know God is there and I rarely Question him anymore because I am on my journey to enlightenment .He forgives my tender heart for it is this heart that is one of many he seeks to be in this world. He allows us our sorrow but builds a stronger caring heart. O ne that can take action in times of need.Much peace and love to you all.
How true and how beautiful. I love you.
In a world that seems unjust sometimes, when we strive so hard to have faith of rebuilding after our worlds have crumbled, that scripture seems a wonderful reminder that God is helping us and that, even though the reality may be death and destruction instead of the clean slate we want to see, we are not alone…….He is there. If our hearts are just, if we are true, the rebuilding will be as a team, together making things right with God. Nothing destroyed by either God’s hand or ours cannot be rebuilt better, together.
We all are responsible of this world. How can all children of the world be responsible of our world, of our errors? Why must a child pay for humanity’s errors, there it will be a way for punish real responsable persons : dictators, regnants, industrials, heads of states, bankers, dealers. I am not Mosè, I am not a child, but I am a democratic woman that every saint day fights and works honestly for living, together my family and people in this world, but my pain, my work, my honesty, my words are invisible and unnecessary as tears in the rain. But I hope my life, my honesty, my pain will make a better world for my family and for every child of the earth. ManilaMaria.
I have an image in my mind.
The world is a garden. God is the gardener. Of course he wants his garden to look the best and dedicates to it his lifeblood. He sows it with his best flowers, puts in many beautiful ponds and plants many trees for birds to nest. He creates all of that paradise, so that life is able to flourish abundantely in his garden’s marvellous splendor.
As we human beings are part of this wonder, it is our responsibility to keep the equilibrium within the garden.
With love.
This is a beautiful image Yilmaz, thanks for sharing it with me. I too have a dream of a world in equilibrium, all of us walking as One in Love. Happy Mars Day!
Pat
Sorry, typing this from my phone and I hit send by mistake… ;-j
… you have been able to show us many of the simple truths He would love us to incorporate into our beings. You have helped many of us to open the door and allow God to become, once again, our greatest friend and confidant – who is there if we will just ask and then listen with the gentle parts of our hearts. Thank you for showing God’s simple truth, “free agency,” and how we can become like Him if we open our total being to see all disasters, both earthly and spiritually, as opportunities to shine.
Thank you for truly being, Paulo.
May (((LOVE))) and ***warm*** blue light continue to surround your shoulders.
Lainee
“You and your descendants will always be rebulding a world which came from nothing – and in this way, we share the consequences.”
Thank you, Paulo for sharing this story at this time. Because you keep trying to humble yourself before man and especially before God,
- Drawing from my experience -
It’s only when you have one’s back to the walls that action can take place.
There is no other way back, You don’t want to return to the situation you were in, It would be foolish. Man is made to evolve not to go backwards,
Having been through the other experience before,- when you rebuild you become more conscious of what needs to be done on the physical and on the mental –
You start planning and gradually add little things here and there that are going to be of benefit in the future.
That little progress allows you to become more independent and self-assured. It makes a difference. It is your own thoughts and actions that count, You are able to think more clearly.
It then gives you that sense of achievement that pushes you to go forward and become a better human being.
Thank you for being, and helping me so much .
I am very grateful.
With love
Marie-Christine
Happy Diwali Paulo…
I’m gonna be a writer like you some day.. if I can express myself half as good as you do i will acheive my legend….
Hi Deepu,
All the best, I really like you ambition and the level of confidence you have.
There is no limit for listeners of own heart. Go Dear go get your dreams. Follow The Alchemist.
Your prayers will be answered. Amen.
SatyaNaga
All the best :)
yes an them ranebodes do remyde us off him promese four ill times
I never get tired reading this short story. It is a beautiful story about us and God, the creator of life and love.
translation to german
Nach der Sintflut
Am Ende der 40 Tage der Sintflut kam Noah aus der Arche. Er war voller Hoffnung, aber alles, was er draußen fand war Tod und Zerstörung.
Noah protestierte:
“Allmächtiger Gott, wenn Du die Zukunft wusstest, warum hast du den Menschen erschaffen? Nur für das Vergnügen, ihn zu bestrafen? ”
Ein dreifaches Parfüm stieg in den Himmel auf: Weihrauch, der Duft von Noahs Tränen, und das Aroma seines Handelns. Und Gott antwortete:
“Die Gebete eines gerechten Mannes werden immer erhört. Ich werde dir sagen, warum ich das tat: damit du dein Werk zu verstehst.
Du und deine Nachkommen werden immer eine Welt wieder aufbauen, die aus dem Nichts kam – und auf diese Weise teilen wir das Werk und die Folgen.
Jetzt sind wir alle verantwortlich.”
Dear Heimo,
I can’t read or write the big “z” … LOL
but if you right click and read the html there they are ZZZ (3)
Kinda spoooky….
So it isn’t only your computer…it must be the z conspiracy…
Take care and smile…
Satora
Dear Satora,
“The Z conspiracy”! Sounds like a great book title.
It was a cold, rainy evening, when I first visited Mr. Coehlo in the blog …….
I will put the cloak of silence about it! LOL
Thank you and a wonderful night
I really love the way, how you explain our resposiblity for our world in this short story.
We can’t give the responsibility to anybody else, because things are what they are, because we did what we did.
It’s not God to accuse.
and , if you allow, dear Paulo:
@heimo who has problems with the big Z.
I can write a Z here, do you see it? :)
No Claudia, i have no Problem,i can not see it! Someone else has a problem. :-)
Only the small z, the big one is invisible. I have tried it on two PCs. Vista and Windows7. IE and Firefox.
(Z)
Within the parentheses should be one. Whoever finds it keep it. :-)
I do not see it! Also, in your translation. No idea why. I can not really be the only one with this Problem.
Thank you Claudia! Best wishes Paulo and a lot of love!
A wonderful evening to all
To me your’s is visible: (Z)
Perhaps there is something wrong with your keyboard?
Love to our patient Paoulo and you
No, my keyboard is ok! Whats your system Claudia? t’s only in this blog! And on all my Computers! ??? Funny, but its no joke! I can’t read it. Sorry, Paulo, but there must be a mistake. I can only say it, no idea why!
I wish you all a wonderful day
With Google Chrome i see the Z. I will use it for the Blog. Thank you for your patience!!!
A wonderful evening
Good day!
Is there any possibility to write an email to Paulo Coelho?
Thank you in advance!
Everything is possible! LOL Sorry, but I could not resist. ROFL
In an emergency case, smoke signals! LOL Sorry for that, I’m silly.
Thank you too!
I wish you a wonderful evening
Excellent text, it is clear that our creator is lurking always analyzing and judging our actions and when they make us frivolous and disposable [ables somo recilados again and a new human generation has the chance to start a better and significant .
Do not look to the heavens because it dwells in the depths of the ocean its creator.
Day by day, let’s make the world full of love.
not full please; you have to leave room for cheese… i LOVE cheese and if there was only love, I could only love love :-(
DESPUES DEL DILUVIO” NOE. al salir de la barca se disiluciona al ver tanta destruccion y reclama a Dios. Pues cree que su esfuerzo hecho con intencion de reconstruir el mudo es muy dificultoso. Pero Dios lo anima a seguir su tarea hasta cumplirla. Ojala cuando se nos presente otra catrastrofe de cualquier indole, ya la inteligencia humana este capacitada y con la ayuda de Dios vuelva a salvar el mundo. mientras tanto nuestra tarea es cuidar nuestro entorno y conservar las diferentes especies que existen en este mundo que Dios con Amor nos a dado. Saludos
Great post. We must all learn to take responsibility for our actions.
We were created in God’s image…as Co-Creators…and yet, we seem to lack the Great Spirit’s sense of responsibility in our construction and actions.
You have to stay positive
Otherwise you give up
Which is not an option
If you want to evolve (or find the love in evolution)
Catch a few rays of sunshine
And a couple of drops of rain
Not standing where the lightening strikes
Nor flying too close to the light again
You’ll be pleased to know
That our world is built up
And held together with sexual tension
So keep erecting or you’ll be past tense
LoveM
yes, I am..my sister’s, my brother’s and my world’s keeper..and they, mine.
thank you for the gentle reminder.
En francais
Apres le deluge
A la fin des quarante jours du deluge, Noe est sorti de l’arche. Il etait rempli d’espoir mais tout ce qu’il trouva dehors fut la mort et la destruction.
Noe protesta :
‘Dieu tout puissant si tu connaissais l’avenir, pourquoi as-tu cree l’homme? Juste pour le plaisir de le punir?’
Un triple parfum s’eleva jusqu’au ciel : l’encens le parfum des larmes de Noe et l’arome de ses actions. Alors Dieu lui repondit :
‘Les prieres d’un homme juste sont toujours entendues. Je te dirais pourquoi j’ai fait ceci: pour que tu puisses comprendre ton travail.
‘Toi et tes descendants reconstruiront toujours un monde qui est issu de rien – et de cette maniere nous partageons le travail et les consequences -
‘Maintenant, nous sommes tous responsables.’
A beautiful story. A very difficult subject. God really knows the future? God is omnipotent? Those are my questions. I believe both. I believe, that the future is not fixed. There are a lot of possibilities. God knows them all and gives us the choice. We are all responsible! What happened, how we build the world is our business.. And we must bear the consequences for our actions. It’s all in our hands. Of course we have no influence on natural disasters. I think today, especially to the people of Turkey. May God ease their suffering and help them.
I wish you all a wonderful evening
My believe it is all us. God gave us the earth with good and evil accompanied with free will. We choose to imprison ourselves and others. Others includes the whole universe. God knows the future but He choose to give us free will and we are not experienced in using it. We are losing our one and only distinct feature between all creatures, free will. It is the same feature that allow us to ask forgiveness from God. Instead we choose to distory, kill, fight, torture and burn. All of these acts hurt you no matter which side you are.
One thing I will never understand, why we do all of this. What is the purpose? I don’t see any benefit for anyone on any side. I think we lost the purpose and became a counting machine. Even this we are doing it poorly.
Maybe if at least I can come up with logical reason behind all of this damage I might come to accept and start rebuilding. But this unlogical unmercful monster cycle has no purpose, at least in my opinion. This cycle has been repeating over and over for centuries and no one wins. If this is a game, it is a boring one. How we expect the future generation to build when there is no incentive for it. We are like a being feeding on himself until he loses his total essance.
Hello Mr Coelho, I used a quote of yours in my defence for free expression, hope you dont mind…… theFREEpensivequill.blogspot.com/
Yes, indeed we are.
Kind regards,
Mike
Eclesiastes 3
1Existe um tempo próprio para tudo, e há uma época para cada coisa debaixo do céu:
2um tempo para nascer e um tempo para morrer; um tempo para plantar e um tempo para colher o que se semeou;
3um tempo para matar, um tempo para curar as feridas; um tempo para destruir e outro para reconstruir;
4um tempo para chorar e um tempo para rir; um tempo para se lamentar e outro para dançar de alegria;
5um tempo para espalhar pedras, um tempo para as juntar; um tempo para abraçar, um tempo para afastar quem se chega a nós;
6um tempo para andar à procura e outro para perder; um tempo para armazenar e um para distribuir;
7um tempo para rasgar e outro para coser; um tempo para estar calado e outro tempo para falar;
8um tempo para amar, um tempo para odiar; um tempo para a guerra, e um tempo para a paz.
9 O que é que uma pessoa realmente obtém com o seu esforço?
10Pensei nisto em relação às várias espécies de trabalho que Deus dá à humanidade.
11Tudo tem o seu tempo próprio. Mas ainda que Deus tenha posto no coração do ser humano a ideia da eternidade, mesmo assim o homem não consegue atingir inteiramente o propósito das obras de Deus, desde o princípio até ao fim.
12Por isso concluí que, primeiramente, não há nada melhor para o ser humano do que ser feliz e gozar da vida, tanto quanto puder;
13em segundo lugar, que deve comer, beber e disfrutar do fruto do seu trabalho, pois estas coisas são um dom de Deus.
14Uma coisa sei eu, é que tudo quanto Deus faz é perfeito, é para sempre – nada se lhe pode acrescentar ou tirar; e a intenção de Deus é que as pessoas temam o Deus todo-poderoso.
15Aquilo que acontece agora, no presente, tanto como o que vai acontecer mais tarde, já se produziu no passado. Deus faz com que os factos se repitam.
16Observei também isto sobre a Terra: é que a maldade reina onde o direito deveria ser aplicado e onde deveria ser feita justiça.
17E disse para comigo: Com certeza que no momento próprio Deus julgará tudo quanto faz o ser humano, tanto o bem como o mal.
18E assim dei-me conta que Deus permite que o mundo continue no curso do pecado para poder testar a humanidade, e para que os próprios homens verifiquem que não são melhores do que os animais.
19Pois tanto estes como aqueles, ambos respiram o mesmo ar, ambos morrem. É assim que a humanidade não tem vantagens reais sobre os animais. Eis outra coisa absurda!
20Tudo vai ter ao mesmo lugar – todos são pó e ao pó voltarão.
21Quem pode provar que o fôlego do homem vai para cima e o dos animais fica no pó da terra?
22É dessa forma que eu constatei que não há nada melhor para o homem do que ser feliz no seu trabalho; é esse o seu quinhão na terra; ninguém o fará voltar à vida para ver o que acontecerá depois dele; por isso, que disfrute do presente!
Olá Paulo, tudo bem?
Tem um tempo que eu não passo por aqui… Nem li o seu post de hoje, vim por outro motivo. Veja, li uma frase do Bob Marley, não sei se você conhece, mas que reflete alguns sentimentos na fase atual de minha vida. Gostaria, se possível, que você fizesse algum comentário, caso tenha, sobre essa frase:
“Dificil não é lutar por aquilo que se quer, e sim desistir daquilo que se mais ama. Eu desisti. Mas não pense que foi por não ter coragem de lutar, e sim por não ter mais condições de sofrer” – Bob Marley
De qualquer forma, valeu!
Noah I share your tears and the aroma of your actions. May we all learn the lessons that work is never finished.
Mankind looses site of this key point, and asks the question as Noah did, “Why create man if just to punish him?”. Through our everyday struggles mankind falls into the societal machine, and then simply asks this question of why? Why do we suffer? Why do we have such great hopes and aspirations of changing this world yet we suffer? Noah was filled with hope, but then was faced with a world outside of death and destruction. This world of death and destruction is necessary in order to realize the hope one has inside.
It is my hope that every person in this world has the hope; the inner desire to change this world for the better, although I have found this is not true. Not everyone shares the same dream of making this world a better place for all to live in. But it is because of this realization that I can realize those who do. How can one know the good without the bad? One cannot. One cannot see hope or feel hope, without feeling death or destruction.
God presents his reasonings, as seen above, for this death and destruction. He states man is only, “ rebuilding a world which came from nothing”. We must all share the work and the consequences and we must all be responsible. How could we citizens of this world appreciate and be thankful for the time to live upon it if we had no comprehension of how it was built. How it came from nothing and is what it is today. We all must take responsibility for our actions in building and damaging the world. Now this concept is apparent with global warming. Mankind has all realized the damage we have placed upon this plant Earth, and we realize the work it is going to take to rebuild it. Generations preceding this youth generation took for granted the Ozone layer, and now my generation is faced with skin cancer. It will be my generation that will rebuild the destruction, but only then will we have the ability to have hope for generations to come. If we can accomplish this great task of saving the world, then we can have hope in our children. We are all responsible; therefore it gives us all the responsibility to take a part in fixing the problems of today.
God shows Noah, one must know destruction and death to realize hope, and we all have the responsibility for the place we live today. I want to change this world and better it for all those around me. That is what I want to die knowing I did. I cannot achieve this until I myself suffer, until I myself feel unhappiness, until I myself feel death. I must feel all these things before I can feel hope, happiness, and life; before I can be thankful for all those things and realize I too have responsibility in this place I call home.
Thank you friends for the wonderful comments. I have learnt not to take anything for granted, to cherish and give thanks for each moment.
Jessica, can I add one more song to your song list – Enya’s Only Time, it’s a beautiful song, that I first heard while seeing the movie Sweet November.
Love and peace to all.
Yes indeed we are all responsible for the care -and conservation of our beautiful planet -we are one and its a shame that it always takes though something like a catastrophy to pull or bring people togeather -we should all be like this 24/7 in helping our brothers and sisters .Blessings Tania
Deus constroe, o Homem destroe…
As vezes acho que a Dialética é uma coisa só, outrora penso que a Metafísica é uma eterna refazenda…
Enquanto, vamos tocando em frente:
“Ando devagar porque já tive pressa
Levo esse sorriso porque já chorei demais
Hoje me sinto mais forte, mais feliz quem sabe,
Só levo a certeza de que muito pouco eu sei,
Nada sei.
Conhecer as manhas e as manhãs,
O sabor das massas e das maçãs,
É preciso amor pra poder pulsar,
É preciso paz pra poder sorrir,
É preciso chuva para florir…
Penso que cumprir a vida seja simplesmente
Compreender a marcha e ir tocando em frente,
Como um velho boiadeiro levando a boiada
Eu vou tocando os dias pela longa estrada eu vou.
Estrada eu sou…”(Almir Sater e Renato Teixeira)
I like this story. I think I understand it.
Dear Savita,
I agree with you. God, the universe, our collective souls or whatever else name one might want to use creates this catastrophes to incite growth.
Yesterday Paulo provided an excerpt of his conversations with his master, which was explaining loss: Losses create room for potential growth and according to the master, one out of ten times people become aware of their new possibilities and grow, by changing their lives.
The same principle holds true for these catastrophes – even for large scale desasters directly caused by mankind like genocide. Even if I believe in this and even if I consider it as a creation of new possibilities for growth, I as a human being at the same time feel deep empathetic sadness and and sympathies for anyone being struck by such an event.
At this point, however, “the wheel is come full circle”, back to responsibility, the importance of which god demonstrated Noah the way Paulo quoted it. I strongly believe it is a collective lack of responsibility that leads to catastrophes. Or the other way round: The more responsibility among mankind the less catastrophes will be necessary for further growth.
I’d highly appreciate to find out how the other readers of Paulo’s blog think about this issue.
Love
Günther
Yes we are all responsible even for Ike and towns like Bridge City, New Orleans….
Yes, we shuld share consequences too !
I do not think how world looks today, Jessica, I think and do my best how it should look like today, tomorrow and days to come.
Every single person is important, every single move is important even little one, even one word !
I do not loose courrage because my words and actions are not so effiscient as Paulo’s !
I just thank God that there are such persons and do my little best I could.
Luce
Incidentally, Hurricane Ike – that was forty days ago!
Savita
Thank you for your post, Paulo Coelho. It is as relevant today as it might have been in Noah’s era.
As I look out my window this morning – I still have a window, still have a roof over my head – the trees in my yard are still standing, with the exception of a few that were snapped off, like match sticks, high up. Over the past month, since Hurricane Ike, which hit this area directly, I have been driving around with a knot in my throat which, from time to time, becomes a declaration that must be let out: “Oh, Dear God,” I say, “How lucky we are!” Often I drive by a house from which the roof is missing, or sometimes just a pile a rubble that used to be a house, and I turn back to my daughter who is sitting in the back seat and I say, “Let us say ‘Thank You’ to God. Do you know how lucky we are?” And thus we pass by houses, no longer habitable, that used to be homes, saying prayers under our breath or sometimes, out loud, in unison.
There is one town, near here, Bridge City, which simply isn’t there any more. Of the several thousand homes that comprised this small city, only a handful were spared. And it’s all so “random” – never the places you would expect to be destroyed. Buildings that appeared indestructible simply aren’t there anymore. And then there are homes left standing – shacks really – that you wouldn’t have thought would withstand the slightest puff of wind. And especially when I see poor people’s homes badly hit, I think, “My God! My God! How can this be?!”
There is this one family who lives right on the side of a highway, on a small plot of land. They’ve been working for over a year now to build a descent house that they could call their own. I’ve been watching them as I pass by, as their house stands on the route I must take to arrive at the larger town in our area. For months, they brought in little loads of wood – I suppose, as much as they could afford at a time. Slowly, without an architect or carpenters, working themselves, by hand, they erected a wooden frame. Then, just as slowly, over a period of many more months, they roofed it and closed it in. For a long while I could tell they had no electricity – I don’t know how they ever cut the boards, unless they cut them too by hand or brought them in already cut – as I would only see a lamp-light through the window. Then one evening, late, I passed by on my way home and I saw a porch light on, shining like a beacon, announcing “home.” The sight of it made my heart soar for these people who obviously had worked so hard and so long just to attain so little. Finally, it seemed, against all odds, they had prevailed – they had, at last, a home of their own, as modest as it was.
Less than a week later, Hurricane Ike hit, full force. Now, for the past month, I have seen these people out there again, picking up the pieces of what’s left, trying to put it all back together. This time, though, I noticed something different – a few “official looking” vehicles parked in their yard, some extra cars and trucks, and one van, off and on, that was evidently a church van of some sort. This time, they had help! So, did God destroy the house that these people had build, just so that the rest of us would have an opportunity to help them rebuild it? Perhaps. I don’t have that answer.
But there is one thing that I do know, after having been through Ike and several other major storms, such as both Katrina and Rita: there is nothing that so transcends differences and brings a community together like a major catastrophe of this sort.
When these things happen, I always think too of the people who live in places like Cuba and Haiti, who had very little to begin with, few resources with which to rebuild, and who are hit over and over again. I wonder if, as a result, they are closer as a community than we are? Is such destruction Gods way of shifting our focus off of the material excesses of life and back to what is most important – our relationship with other human beings? When the whole physical world around you gets inundated with water and ripped apart by wind again and again, where do you place your faith? I think it must be that you place your faith more in God and other human beings, rather than in material possessions, these transient tokens of human existence.
Much Love,
Savita Vega
‘Deluge’ as in a lot of rain, meaning flooding, to loose everything…and start over again. If we can only believe in the precious strength inside each and every one of us, and our two hand that can perform miracles.
We must learn to use our Freedom with responsibility, to ourselves, our family, our country and our Planet. Not only our actions have to be controled but our thoughts too. We are ONE with the Universe.
LOVE,
THELMA
Yes Thelma We are ONE. Is it not amazing that we are scattered throughout the world but can still come togther by this site thanks to Paulo.
Blessings from Scotland
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