If tomatoes wanted to be melons,
they would look completely ridiculous.
I am always amazed
that so many people are concerned
with wanting to be what they are not;
what’s the point of making yourself look ridiculous?
You don’t always have to pretend to be strong,
there’s no need to prove all the time that everything is going well,
you shouldn’t be concerned about what other people are thinking,
cry if you need to,
it’s good to cry out all your tears
(because only then will you be able to smile again).

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How nice and true! Thank you, dear Paulo!
Ibn Abbas heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say: The Fire will not touch two pairs of eyes: The one that sheds tears out of fear of Allah and the other that keeps watch through the night in the cause of Allah.
Thank you, Paulo! I can always count on your posts to teach me the exact thing I need to be taught! Peace and gratitude to you and all of your readers…
me gusto lo del tomate y el melon,yo pienso q no se trata de tratar de vender imagen q no es,se trata de aparentar tal ves un poco menos de lo q uno es.Algo asi como “manteneos locos pero tratad de parecer gentes normales”me explico y despues penas y llantos van unidos a risas y alegrias! .Estado de animos,mi queridisimo escritor al q nos lleva la propia vida.OBRIGADO geniooooooo
…si hombre si…
Good advice
but if you like to achieve your goals sometimes you must pretend to be strong more than you are and to look like someone else even it’s ridiculous
so in my opinion it’s partly true
Mi opinión es que no debemos aparentar lo que no somos, pero tampoco demostrar debilidad ante los demás, porque eso nos perjudicaria, vivimos en un mundo muy competitivo donde nos fijamos muchisimo en la apariencia, la imagen y el saber estar no casa mucho con ir con la cara
descubierta…No es que no me guste la sencillez y lo natural , que si …pero
para vivir el día a día, muchas veces hay que ponerse una coraza, para que no te dañen, y te resbalen los menosprecios del jefe, las envidias de compañeras etc…
Saludos.
Dans la section ‘jardin et potager’ j’ai une bonne recette .
Comme nous arrivons vers l’hiver elle est ideale.
Alors j’ai utilise la selection qui se trouve en haut et j’en ai ajoute d’autres – pour la saveur -
Nous aurons donc un bon potage a cuire au coin du feu si vous voulez ..prendra un peu plus longtemps mais le gout…. imaginez.cela
Rassemblez, lavez et coupez si ca vous dit en morceaux ,moi je le coupe en trois .
Ingredients :
carottes, capsicum, ail oignon – avec l’oignon je le decore un petit peu avec des clous de girofle et je le laisse en entier,, – j’ajoute des pommes de terre, du celeri en branches ,, poivre, sel et des poireaux et les tomates , Puis vers la fin,, ajoutez des haricots (3 ou plus varietes) et au dernier moment les vermicelles (anges).
N’oubliez pas l’eau. Tres important.:)
Ne la mangez pas tout d’un coup, Gardez-en pour le lendemain. Ne soyez pas trop gourmand,.
Decorez avec du persil avant de servir ou du Parmigiano Reggiano.(Fresco)
Section boulangerie : un pain bien croustillant est conseille.,
Le melon sera le dessert servi sur un coulis de framboises et une feuille de menthe pour decoration,
Faites moi part de vos impressions. Merci.
Vous pouvez la preparer le samedi pour le dimanche comme ca vous etes tranquille.
,
Hace mucho que mi autoestima dejo de depender de como me veo fisicamente; muchisimo menos depende de lo que digan los demas….pase por muchos anos de angustia luchando contra un desorden alimenticio y sin saberlo…ahora que tengo sobrepeso de verdad despues de haber tenido 2 hijos, veo hacia atras y me pregunto como era posible que pesando 45 libras menos de lo que peso hoy dia me sintieray me viera gorda en aquel entonces??….Por eso, y aunque suene a cliche, la belleza interior es la mas importante: cuando tienes miedos, angustias, inseguridades, etc, por mas bonita o guapo que seas, hacia el mundo se vera lo que proyectas; el interior se refleja en lo de afuera y al final esa belleza interna es lo que realmente cuenta porque esa no se acaba jamas!!
para mi algunas veces es difícil mostrar cuan vulnerable soy …. y al parecer me perciben como alguien fuerte y dura.. sin embargo esta tristeza esta acumulada y va saliendo poco a poco y duele mucho mas….
Tomare muy en cuenta que necesito sacar todas las lagrimas para volver a sonreír.. aunque las personas me vean llorar como niña..
THANKS. PAULO…!!!
Very true! Sometimes we get scare to let people see our feelings!!
*give up
God is in everything ,if you look after yourself for him you are as perfect as he could ever want you. You will feel a perfect as you would ever want to.Much love,peace and blessings.OMMM
amazing advice i realy alwyz love 2 do it, i m wht i m…!!! i nevr customize myslf bcz ov peoplz…!!!
sabes, la moda es como esos melones..no entiendo porque todas las mujeres se quieren ver igual..si todos somos diferentes y esas discrepancias son las que hacen interesante el conversar, leer y mas emocionante una velada..no estoy de acuerdo con la uniformidad que impone la moda, los cantantes, las muñecas barbie desde pequeñas..pienso que hay que ser autentico y orgulloso de su etnia, sus origenes sus logros y ningun famoso es mas inportante que el projimo que todos los dias se levanta a trabajar y echar pa lante su vida.. que vivan las uvas que no quieren ser igual a nadie¡
es de las mejores conclusiones que he leido , cuantas veces estamos todo el dia en batallas que realmente no nos van a llevar a nada y en eso tenemos toda la energia gastada y mas?
un abrazo
Nada mas hermoso que esta bella comparación, somos tan tiernos como un tomate y queremos parecer melones, de que sirven las vestiduras si la relalidad lo más importante es lo que somos por dentro…nuestras esencia….y para poder disfrutar al máximo una sonrisa ahí que saber lo que es el llanto…:)
En mi opinión creo que la vida siempre es un aprendizaje,y siempre tienes la oportunidad de ser mejor,solo tienes que querer serlo.Si no te conformas con lo que eres, necesitas “volver a nacer”.
Fully agree that it’s good to cry all tears out. It is a way to express one’s feelings. I have experienced it also purifying, and indeed I was able to smile again happily.
So true, but Rivertear flooded… still no one hear me cry… understand what I want… so is myself!
Very true :) what others think about you is none of your business ! :) being yourself is what makes you special from others so always be yourself :)
with so many people around me sometimes i forget myself …. thanks for reminding for who i am …..
inspiring your each and every words,my dearest author
thanku..u r an inspiration sir.
Thanks for the reality check.
german translation
Tomaten und Melonen
Wenn Tomaten Melonen sein wollten,
würden sie völlig lächerlich aussehen.
Ich bin immer wieder erstaunt,
dass so viele Menschen damit beschäftigt sind,
sein zu wollen, was sie nicht sind;
was ist der Sinn darin sich selbst lächerlich zu machen?
Man muss nicht immer vorgeben, stark zu sein,
es gibt keine Notwendigkeit, die ganze Zeit zu beweisen, dass alles gut ist,
du solltest dir keine Sorgen darüber machen, was andere Menschen denken,
weine, wenn es nötig ist,
es ist gut alle seine Tränen heraus zu schreien
(denn nur dann wirst du imstande sein wieder zu lächeln).
Thank you for reminding me to be myself.
I sometimes forget about it.
with gratitude,
Claudia
Creo que como todo en la vida puede ser así, o puede ser todo lo contrario, porque si los tomates quisieran ser melones también tienen derecho a intentarlo -.-’
Tampoco creo que sea ridículo aparentar ser más fuerte,
de vez en cuando y por desgracia hay que enseñar los colmillos para hacerse respetar.
Todo esto sería como negar la validez de estas sabias frases que pueden servir perfectamente como referencia tanto a las frutas (jaja) como a aquellos que tienen que fingir:
♥¸.•*¨)¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´♥♥.¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨) ¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
Somos aquello en lo que creemos.
Si quieres ser feliz actua como si ya lo fueras.
Si crees totalmente en ti mismo, no habrá nada que esté fuera de tus posibilidades.
♥¸.•*¨)¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´♥♥.¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨) ¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
Estoy de acuerdo con el comentario de yo-yo- :) ha dicho exactamente lo que me quede pensando y por eso, gracias
So true, be you , you are unique, you are you, there’s no one like you. Nourish your dreams, cry out your tears, and walk the path that your heart dictates. It may not be easy at first, obsticles are there only to strenghten you, but when you stay true to youself your heart will be happy. You have to look for your happiness , that is your goal, not looking what pleases others but what makes YOU happy.
Your words are inspiring as always. They make me love myself and appreciate to see things as they are. Like a good wake up call that we all need sometimes ♥ . When we accept who we are and show our true feelings, only then we can embrace the life here and now and truly feel it.
Love and light to you Paulo and all your followers.
/T
Come sempre, la verità non sta mai da una sola parte.
Se analizziamo la realtà superficialmente, diremo di sicuro che il pomodoro che vuol essere melone diventa ridicolo. Ma se pomodoro e melone si mettono a confronto e si analizzano nel profondo, essi vedranno che, a parte il sapore, la forma ed il colore un poco diversi, il loro cuore non è poi così diametralmente opposto.
Il pomodoro dirà che è rosso, tondo, più piccolo, più asprigno ma converrà con il melone che contiene al suo interno praticamente le stesse vitamine: la C, la A, la B.
<>.
Appurato questo, il melone cercherà altri punti in comune:
<>
<>, gli risponderà il pomodoro. <>.
<>, si accorderanno alla fine i due coloratissimi ortaggi. Siamo un po’ diversi, ma chi vorrà potrà trovare in tutti e due delle qualità analoghe nel profondo del nostro cuore. E delle qualità peculiari, quel tanto che bastano da conferirci l’unicità. L’importante è non perdere le nostre identità, pur cercando quello che di buono ci accomuna>>.
Già, pure di non diventare ridicoli, ma sempre senza salire sul trono perchè nella Creazione nulla è superfluo. Neppure ciò che a prima vista sembra insignificante, umile, inutile o addirittura cattivo>>.
Pace.
Fratellanza
Umiltà
Talking of I’m..plants..
Tomatoes into Melons..
Crying with laughter..
LoveM
The most difficult task is to win self.
more than true :)
I am not totally agree with this poem, because our human are not classified as differently as tomatoes and melons.
How can somebody know, if you can become something or not.
If a child tells you, he wants to become a bird, you will know it won’t come true, because our human are not birds.
But if he tells you, he wants to climb the highest mountain in the world, yet he can’t even climb over a chair, will you tell him : “why are you so concerned with wanting to be what you are not?”
I consider it’s absolutely right, that we always try to become a better self.
What is true in this poem, is:
Be faithful and honest to yourself, to others, and to your dreams, there’s no need to pretend.
From where I am sitting, when I look at my PC’ screen, I am flying over Turkey,
Yes, You can be a ‘bird’ and also have a bird’s overview :)
With love
Marie-Christine
As long as you stay in your reality and remember that what other people say belongs to them you are in safe ground.
Keep on smiling
Have a nice Sun Day.
big hug, paulo <3
:)
Il ne sert à rien de vouloir paraitre ce que l’on est pas, seule la sincérité se lit au fond des yeux de l’Autre. Les apparences ne masquent la vérité que peu de temps, et c’est l’authenticité qui touche le cœur et l’âme .
M christ G
I’m myself: I went shopping today ..
If you look back ten or twenty years ago, you may wonder how did the present generation had the stamina to create some of the fascinating things we could not imagine before. Partially, everything we have today is a product of yesterday. It was influenced by brilliant artists of the previous centuries, plagiarized from their artworks, and later served as inspiration for the artistic child of today. Nevertheless, art either fine or digital, just as religion, serves to benefit the government as well. Moreover, for the new digital art to be born, space has to be created, and other artworks must disappear.
If you also look at all the events, just as the social revolutions, the art revolutions were breaking walls and progressing toward the stage of the present. Therefore, art in one way or another, was continuously growing, changing, and improving, while damaging and benefiting peoples lives
In a word: authenticity. Be true to yourself. Be smart enought to be who you wanna be without letting the ones you’re sure are going to judge you have the pleasure to interfere in your life and without letting them know you are as crazy as you want to be.
En francais
Les tomates et les melons
Si les tomates voulaient devenir melons
elles seraient tout a fait ridicules.
Je suis toujours stupefait
que tant de personnes s’inquietent
a vouloir etre ce qu’elles ne sont pas.
a quoi cela sert de vous ridiculiser?
Vous n’avez pas toujours besoin de faire croire que vous etes fort
ce n’est pas necessaire de prouver que vous allez bien tout le temps
ne vous inquietez pas de ce que pensent les autres
pleurez si besoin est.
ca fait du bien de verser vos larmes
(parce que seulement de cette facon vous serez capable de sourire encore)
I am just glad as glad can be
That I am not them, that they are not me-Ogden Nash
Is there an address, email or physical address, where a reader may write a letter to Paulo? Though I have found some posted on various sites on the web, I cannot help but question their authenticity. It is my hope to send Paulo a letter that has some hope in reaching him. Whether the answer be yay or nay, I would very much appreciate some feedback as it will end my search.
With gratitude…
Tabitha
I had never thought that this could mean to not want to be myself.
Never though of this, this way.
Thank you! <3 Hugs
Свет@фор.
Мы маски в жизни
Примеряем:
Себя находим мы в одних..
В иных-теряем.
Зелёный свет даём тому
Что ближе сознанью нашему.
Когда ж сознание своё сужаем
То “wait” и “stop”
Сигнала два
Поочерёдно мы включаем
..И с опозданием
На место назначенья прибываем.
….’ it’s good to cry out all your tears
(because only then will you be able to smile again’.
I remember when my father was dying, I was pregnant. When he got worse I lost the baby. I had to undergo then the necessary ‘operation’ and had to be under hypnosis. While I was awakening I remember I was crying and crying.. Crying ‘all my tears’, taking out all my sadness and the sadness of my mother, my father’s, my sister’s and the sadness of every soul I had met and felt their pain. Because when I meet other people, I ”sense” what they feel.. I hug them, embrace them, caress them with my whole heart! I may not reveal it, because we have to respect the privacy of other people and keep our dignity and ‘masks’ on! In our SILENCE we try to find the TRUTH, which will lead us to the Way, Life and LOVE.
Since that time of my ‘crying’ I cannot cry any more.. I am petrified and feel a .. spectator ..
LOVE,
Thelma xxx
Love you ‘Mama Thelma’ xxx
Love you, Kealan and Paulo Coelho and Cristina and all the Warriors of the Light and … everybody! SMILE and dream..
LOVE,
(Mama :-))) )
Thelma xxx
A wonderful story. A tomato is a tomato, a melon is a melon. Neither can the tomato be a melon nor the melon be a tomato. They can wish for, it will not work. If the tomato changes the perspective, perhaps a small consolation. In Austria, Tomatos are called “Paradeiser”. That means paradise apple. I think that’s very nice. Actually, no reason to cry. But it never hurts to cry, sometimes the tears speak for themselves, sometimes they are in words. To that extent, cry, even if it seems pointless for many, change a lot. Similarly, with the laugh. In life not everything always goes as you wish. It’s not important how many times you fall, is often as important as you get up again.
I wish you all a wonderful day
Os comportamentos geram influências . E as aparências geram escravidão .
Fazemos o possível para passar uma imagem fabricada , uma imagem falsa daquilo que somos , dizemos aquilo que queríamos ser . Se nos perguntassem porque queremos ser de determinada maneira , talvez não saberemos explicar , Tentamos evitar o sofrimento camuflando quem realmente somos . Guardamos nossos sentimentos e concordamos com a maioria sem saber por que estamos concordando com eles . E de tanto tentar evitar o sofrimento , sofremos anda mais , pois não estamos sendo autênticos , estamos apenas encenando um papel de ator .
Como vivemos em sociedade sempre estaremos sujeitos as influências da sociedade . Cabe a nós escolher qual influência iremos seguir , existem influências boas e ruins , homens bons e ruins , caminhos bons e ruins , nós escolhemos e depois não podemos reclamar , já que a decisão foi exclusivamente nossa . Nós podemos ser influenciados ou influenciar .
Parece que vivemos em um processo de infinitas cópias . Adão copiou Eva e comeu do fruto proibido ,
Chega a dar a impressão que as pessoas se imitam por preguiça , parece que querem se poupar do trabalho de inovar , inventar , criar . Parece que é mais fácil copiar . E sempre copiamos aqueles que achamos superiores , os melhores , queremos ser igual a eles . Tentamos seguir um padrão modelo , uma pessoa perfeitamente idealizada , uma pessoa que não peca , não erra , não se intimida . Justamente nesse momento perdemos a batalha , pois nunca seremos a pessoa que idealizamos , nunca seremos perfeitos , nunca saberemos tudo . Nós podemos nos aperfeiçoar , melhorar quem somos , progredir todos os dias . Mas nunca seremos perfeitos .
“O mundo inteiro é um palco e todos os homens e mulheres são meros atores.”
William Shakespeare
“O mundo inteiro é um palco e todos os homens e mulheres são meros atores.”
Eu complementaria essa frase dizendo que o mundo inteiro é um palco e todos os homens e mulheres são os atores e diretores , Ás vezes o roteiro não sai como o esperado , mas nós escolhemos qual papel vamos atuar na vida ,
Podemos ser o Judas ou não .
Podemos ser o bom samaritano que ajudou um homem , ou podemos ser como aqueles que passaram com indiferença .
Podemos estender nossa mão para ajudar alguém a se levantar ou podemos usar nossa mão para empurrar e derrubar alguém .
Enfim , somos os atores e diretores de nossas vidas . Planejamos o roteiro , e quando o roteiro não sai como o esperado , podemos ser o ator que enfrenta as dificuldades ou podemos ser o ator que desiste .
Podemos ser os heróis ou os vilões de nossas próprias histórias.,
When I was young, I had a dream to become a flight attendant. When I told people they would laugh because they said I was so much smarter than a flight attendant and I could do so much more with my life. But to me, a flight attendant was a way to see the world, to meet and talk with people from all over this earth and to experience amazing things. I dreamed of moving to the middle-east and working with one particular airline.
As time went by and I finished higschool I went to university and I studied science and became an environmental scientist. It was a good career and good income, however, I still always wanted to be a flight attendant and I was scared that I would one day be an old lady and it would be too late to realise my dream. So after five years of working in an unfulfilling job, I attended an airline open day one weekend in Australia. Unfortunately I wasn’t selected, so I got upset and gave up on my dream. Then, a few weeks later, my best friend posted me a gift, and it was The Alchemist. I opened your book at 8pm and didn’t close it until I’d finished it at 3am the following morning because it was that amazing and inspiring. I then left my hometown and travelled around Europe for a few months and did some thinking. I decided to try again with the airline at another open day in Scotland and the airline representative asked me why a scientist wanted to become a flight attendant. They then advised me they didn’t think I was suitable for the role. I was upset again, but now realise that these unsuccessful attempts meant I kept travelling and saw 27 countries along my way while I was trying to follow my dream, just like in The Alchemist.
I then returned to Australia and back to work. I thought the travelling would have settled me and made me forget my dream, but I still wasn’t happy, so I read your book The Alchemist again and realised how important it was to never give up. A month later, I attendant another airline open day for the third time. This time, I was successful and four weeks later I had quit my job, packed up my life and relocated to the middle-east. I lived my dream and worked as a flight attendant for two years before returning to my home and it was the most amazing thing I have ever done. I am so glad I never gave up on my dream because it lead to me having the courage and confidence to continue travelling since. Even though I am now back in Australia, I am constantly travelling to various places in between my work and to date, I have seen 76 countries on this amazing planet.
I owe it to your book, and I am forever grateful to you Paulo. I am content with my life now because I am back in the environmental science field but I will always know that I’ve reached my dream goal and I am content. I have started posting my travelling photos into the above listed website at all the places that I’ve visited. I still have hundreds of photos from more countries to upload when I get time.
I hope one day that I get to meet you because I owe you so much and will forever be indebted to you Paulo.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you so very much.
Sonya
u should share ur travelling experience with us mam
Such a wonderful story! How nice that you shared this with all of us in such beautiful way – Congratulations!!!
Great advice!!!!
Enjoy your weekend.
I have just started my carrier in medicine,it’s a good profession but,the problem is i feel uncompleted. I know it is something important there outside waiting for me…i just want to be sure,i am doing the best of what i can do now with my job and not to have regrets about my past…I am searching my happiness and i wont give till i find it.
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