10 sec reading: My wife and the burnt light

by Paulo Coelho on December 30, 2011

On Christmas Eve, my wife and I were reflecting on the year that was nearly ending, whilst dining at a restaurant.

I started to complain about something that hadn’t happened the way I wanted it to.

My wife focused her attention on a Christmas tree that embellished the place.
I thought that she wasn’t interested in the conversation, so I changed the subject:
“This tree has a beautiful illumination”, I said.

“Yes, but if you look carefully you can see one burnt light among dozens.
” It seems to me that instead of thinking of this year as dozens of enlightened blessings, you chose to look at the one light that did not glow

 
 

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{ 137 comments }

Loma Loots April 10, 2012 at 9:13 am

Touche, mrs Coelho!!
I could not resist a chuckle.

Spirit April 9, 2012 at 12:03 pm

Very inspiring. Thank you.

Ronnie January 21, 2012 at 10:10 pm

Oops. Just wrote a comment and had error message which in turn lost what I had carefully written. My friend and I have written a book about how we need to evolve emotionally as individuals and civilizations in order to develop and ealize our potential. We are now rewriting in order to become more assessible > We want to have the book to open discussions so that we can progress. We don’t want the book to be preacy as we don’t profess to know the answers. We believe that not being afrain do not knowing is first step to finding a rightous path. As with rewriting this comment, once the thoughts have been put out there it begins very difficult to rewrite. Do you halp other writers and/or can we trust editor’s? We believe the book is timely and have spent alot of time already on the book and want to get it out there already.

Jacqueline Esic January 17, 2012 at 9:17 am

Simple conversation of you and your wife but very inspiring..Thank you Paulo & Christina..

Maria Gina Valero Ortiz January 15, 2012 at 4:06 pm

Feliz año nuevo Paulo, tambien para tu esposa,
Hace algun tiempo que hablaste de otra navidad…la navidad que nunca existio, entonces ya no recuerdas como es que la navida, ocupa el lado derecho de las mesas, el mundo mi querido Paulo por muchas leyendas que leas creo que es mas mundo en cuanto uno recuerda lo que dejo.
Un abrazo!

Jon January 11, 2012 at 2:55 am

Estas mirina historio.
That’s a wonderful story.

vibhas January 10, 2012 at 1:26 pm

I can actually relate to this , with a recent incident in my life !

Cristiane Machado January 9, 2012 at 1:01 am

Obrigado por voce estar na jornada ao mesmo tempo que eu e tantos outros! Te amo, respeito, admiro e sigo!!! Namaste

matebie getu January 8, 2012 at 1:53 pm

i’ve read ur book The Alchemist & i was wondering how u write it. what a simple,great & smart book,it’s my nomber one.

Genie_Girl January 5, 2012 at 7:12 pm

Very Wise Indeed! She was right. There are those times when we all do this; our human nature is to have the silly tendency to focus on the very things we lack off or the ones that are not working out, when instead, we should get our solemn attention to the numerous blessings God and the universe gives us everyday. We all do it Paulo, but it is super awesome to have cool people like christina by our side, who with their love, wise tales and words they help us see that our world or the world itself is much greater then what might appear to be. It will never be perfect, thus, it will be perfect enough for all of us to count the many beauties it holds and the tons of lovely blessings we are very bless with. :P I find interesting, that the same way your wife with all her love and wisdom helps you see this essential lessons; you as well teach us from your experiences and great stories about this presice lesson. And this is how we learn and we try to practice what we discover about the way we see things. So for that and more thanks Paulo and a great 2012 to you and christina. Hope this year brings all the best and let us be always greatfull for all that life brings. For like you say ” life is a great journey, it is like a train.” and the way I see it. Not all trains have smooth rides, but what really counts is the great journeys and all the cool experiences that keep the train running and longing for more. Tons of love and purple smiles my dearest Paulo.
“Sei muito abençoado pai !! :P

Respectfully,

Purple Genie :P
Canada

BookStairs January 5, 2012 at 12:39 pm

The right way to reflect a year. Btw: Happy new year to you!

Donna January 4, 2012 at 12:42 pm

This is a powerful 10sec reading indeed! Short & sharp :) I like it, thanks for sharing

dionisio j serpa January 4, 2012 at 5:49 pm

pleese favor mandar em portugues

payal agarwal January 3, 2012 at 5:31 pm

This reminds me of a question asked by my little princess..”Why do people put lights on the trees?Don’t they know trees are living things?” I get to learn a lot from her..a pure heart filled with love!

Angela January 3, 2012 at 10:59 am

Mrs Coelho is a really wise lady! Happy New Year! A great reminder to count our blessings! :-)

Jessica Dator-Bercilla January 3, 2012 at 10:16 am

Thank you very much, Mr. Coelho, for inspiring many. Someday, I am hoping to have the opportunity to meet you. A blessed new year to you and your lovely wife from the Philippines.

Christiana January 2, 2012 at 9:39 pm

The worst thing about a burnt light is probably the memory that it used to glow before! Also, among thousands of lights a small dark sign looks even darker! Well… happy positive thinking new year anyway!

linda January 2, 2012 at 5:58 pm

You and all your stories are always an inspiration for me. Happy new year to you Paulo, and also to your lovely wife…

izabella January 2, 2012 at 4:53 pm

Thank you Mr.Coelho for everything.

Hyundai Srbija January 2, 2012 at 2:22 pm

Happy new year !!!

Yajna January 2, 2012 at 11:28 am

Dearest Paulo,

It seems you get a lot of wisdom from your wife :) she seems amazing. This may sound odd, but I like that u admit to complaining. With all your wisdom, beautiful words, and incredible inspiration, the fact that u complain, maybe even get irritated shows that your human like everyone. I like that. Makes you more approachable, and I’m sure people can identify with you more. Sometimes people just publish the good in them, it’s nice to see you have no limitations like that. I like that u come across as someone who is, who he is. Gives others the confidence to be themselves.

Thank you for being.
Yajna

Angela January 3, 2012 at 10:58 am

I couldn’t agree more! Happy New Year! :-)

monica January 2, 2012 at 9:53 am

Cuanta sabiduría reunida en 2 bellas personas….

Rudolf January 1, 2012 at 7:19 pm

Your wife is a good listener, she has a sharp eye and gives you the perfect advise. You lucky one!

anna rudzińska January 1, 2012 at 6:27 pm

Jestem pod ogromnym wrażeniem Pana książek. Z okazji Nowego 2012 Roku Wszystkiego najlepszego. Zdrowia i weny twórczej. Pozdrawiam serdecznie z Polski

densi January 1, 2012 at 6:01 pm

Urgency /Tyler Knott Gregson/
Maybe
just maybe,
true love is
urgency.
That frantic
need to close
the gaps between
two bodies
like all you are
will break and bust
if you
do not.

from http://www.tylerknott.com

Karan January 1, 2012 at 5:32 pm

Wow.. beautiful.. what a coincidence.. I was ending 2011 sad about a particular thing in my life…i read this story and ended up smiling!
Even I was thinking about that one thing instead of all the other blessings I recieved this year!! I really needed this story!

Thank you so much Mr Coehlo… Happy new year to all and god bless!

Clara Z January 1, 2012 at 12:21 pm

Dearest Paulo, Christina and all the friends of this blog
I wish you all a peaceful and joyful New Year.
May it brings you Serenety and fulfilment in your dreams.
May the Light be always shining along the way and, if one day the Dark will came, may the Light that shine within guide you through your Path again…

All the very best Clara