Paulo Coelho

Father Alan Jones says that, in order for our soul to be able to overcome the obstacles, we need Four Invisible Forces: love, death, power and time.

We must love, because we are loved by God.

We must be aware of death, in order to understand life.

We must fight to grow – but not be fooled by the power which comes with growth, for we know it is worthless.

Finally, we must accept that our soul – although it is eternal – is at this moment caught in the web of time, with all its opportunities and limitations; so, on our solitary bike race, we must act as if time existed, doing what we can to value each second, resting when necessary, but always continuing in the direction of the Divine light, without letting ourselves be bothered by the moments of anxiety.

These Four Forces cannot be dealt with as problems to be solved, since they are beyond our control.
We must accept them, and let them teach us what it is we must learn.