The Brazilian author PAULO COELHO was born in 1947 in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Before dedicating his life completely to literature, he worked as theatre director and actor, lyricist and journalist. In 1986, PAULO COELHO did the pilgrimage to Saint James of Compostella, an experience later to be documented in his book The Pilgrimage. In the following year, COELHO published The Alchemist. Slow initial sales convinced his first publisher to drop the novel, but it went on to become one of the best selling Brazilian books of all time. Other titles include Brida (1990), The Valkyries (1992), By the river Piedra I sat Down and Wept (1994), the collection of his best columns published in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S茫o Paulo entitle Maktub (1994), the compilation of texts Phrases (1995), The Fifth Mountain (1996), Manual of a Warrior of Light (1997), Veronika decides to die (1998), The Devil and Miss Prym (2000), the compilation of traditional tales in Stories for parents, children and grandchildren (2001), Eleven Minutes (2003), The Zahir (2005), The Witch of Portobello (2006) and Winner Stands Alone (to be released in 2009). During the months of March, April, May and June 2006, Paulo Coelho traveled to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his pilgrimage to Saint James of Compostella in 1986. He also held surprise book signings - announced one day in advance - in some cities along the way, to have a chance to meet his readers. In ninety days of pilgrimage the author traveled around the globe and took the famous Transiberrian train that took him to Vladivostok. During this experience Paulo Coelho launched his blog Walking the Path - The Pilgrimage in order to share with his readers his impressions. Since this first blog Paulo Coelho has expanded his presence in the internet with his daily blogs in Wordpress, Myspace & Facebook. He is equally present in media sharing sites such as Youtube and Flickr, offering on a regular basis not only texts but also videos and pictures to his readers. From this intensive interest and use of the Internet sprang his bold new project: The Experimental Witch where he invites his readers to adapt to the screen his book The Witch of Portobello. Indeed Paulo Coelho is a firm believer of Internet as a new media and is the first Best-selling author to actively support online free distribution of his work.
鈥淚f you are still living, it鈥檚 because you have not yet arrived at the place you should be.鈥�
鈥淎 man, who seeks only the light, while shirking his responsibilities, will never find illumination. And one who keeps his eyes fixed upon the sun ends up blind.鈥�
鈥淟ife is these walls, and fate is the shout that each of us makes.鈥� said the shepherd. 鈥淲hat we do will be returned to us in the same form. 鈥淕od acts as the echo of our own deeds.鈥�
鈥淲e have been moving along at such a fast pace that we no longer know what we are doing. Now we have to wait until our soul catches up with us.鈥�
鈥淭hose who embark in a new direction and want to keep a bit of the old life, wind up lacerated by their own past.鈥�
God knows that we are creative artists when it comes to our lives. On one day, he gives us clay for sculpting, on another, brushes and canvas, or a pen. But we can never use clay on our canvas, nor pens in sculpture. Each day has its own miracle. Accept the blessings, work and create your minor works of art today. Tomorrow you will receive others.
鈥淥ut of a fear for shrinking, we fail to grow. Out of a fear of weeping, we fail to laugh.鈥�
鈥淎lthough the treasure may be buried in your house, you will find it only if you leave in search for it.鈥�
鈥淎 person who forgives is washing and perfuming his own heart.鈥�
鈥淔ear is not a sign of cowardice. It is fear that allows us be brave and dignified in the face of life鈥檚 situations. Someone who experiences fear 鈥揳nd despite the fear goes on, without allowing it to intimidate him 鈥搃s giving proof of valence.
鈥淭he lack of struggle weakens the soul.鈥�
鈥淲ell, it seems that freedom for man consists of choosing his own brand of slavery.鈥�
It is easy to be difficult. All we have to do is stay away from people, and in that way, avoid suffering. That way, we don鈥檛 have to risk love, disappointment, frustrated dreams. It is easy to be difficult. We don鈥檛 have to be concerned about phone calls we should have made, people who ask us for help, charity that should be extended. It is easy to be difficult. We just have to pretend that we live in an ivory tower, and never shed a tear. We just have to spend the rest of our lives playing a role. It is easy to be difficult. All we have to do is reject everything good that life offers.
鈥淥bjects have their own energy. When they are not used, they turn into standing water in the house 鈥揳 good place for rot and mosquitoes.鈥�
鈥淵ou must be attentive, and allow that energy to flow freely. If you keep what is old, the new has no place in which to manifest itself.鈥�
But it鈥檚 not important what we think, or what we do or what we believe in: each of us will die one day. Better to do as the old Yaqui Indians did: regard death as an advisor. Always ask: 鈥楽ince I鈥檓 going to die, what should I be doing now?鈥�
Our angel is always present, and often uses someone else鈥檚 lips to tell us something. The sculptor, Michelangelo, was once asked how it was that he could create such beautiful works. 鈥淚t's very simple,鈥� he answered. 鈥淲hen I look at a block of marble, I see the sculpture inside it. All I have to do is remove what doesn't belong.鈥� The master says: 鈥淭here is a work of art each of us was destined to create. That is the central point of our life, and -no matter how we try to deceive ourselves -we know how important it is to our happiness. Usually, that work of art is covered by years of fears, guilt and indecision. But, if we decide to remove those things that do not belong, if we have no doubt as to our capability, we are capable of going forward with the mission that is our destiny. That is the only way to live with honor.鈥�
鈥淐ertain Jewish traditions have it that every man has a certain quota of luck, which he uses up over the course of his life. One can make that quota pay interest if he uses his luck only for things he really needs -or he can use his luck in a wasteful fashion. We Jews also say 'Good luck' when someone breaks a glass. But it means, 'It's good that you didn't use up any of your luck trying to keep the glass from breaking. Now, you can use it for more important things. '鈥�
鈥淲e are often incapable of understanding the blessings we have received. Many times we do not perceive what He does to keep us spiritually nourished. There is a story about a pelican who -during a hard winter -sacrificed herself by providing her own flesh to her children. When she finally died of weakness, one of the nestlings said to another: 'Finally! I was getting tired of eating the same old thing every day. '鈥�
If you are dissatisfied with something -even a good thing that you would like to do, but have not been able to -stop now. If things are not going well, there are only two explanations: either your perseverance is being tested, or you need to change direction. In order to discover which of those options is correct -since they are opposites -make use of silence and prayer. Little by little, things will become strangely clear, until you have sufficient strength to choose. Once you have made your decision, forget completely the other possibility. And go forward, because God is the God of the Valiant. Domingos Sabino said: 鈥淓verything always turns out for the best. If things are not going well, it is because you have not yet reached the end.鈥�
The master says: 鈥淎ll roads lead to the same place. But choose your own, and follow it to the end. Do not try to walk every road.鈥�
The master says: 鈥淲rite! Whether it's a letter, a diary or just some notes as you speak on the telephone -but write! In writing, we come closer to God and to others. If you want to understand your role in the world better, write. Try to put your soul in writing, even if no one reads your words -or worse, even if someone winds up reading what you did not want to be read. The simple fact of writing helps us to organize our thoughts and see more clearly what is in our surroundings. A paper and pen perform miracles -they alleviate pain, make dreams come true and summon lost hope. The word has power.鈥�
A legend of the desert tells the story of a man who wanted to move to another oasis, and began to load up his camel. He piled on his rugs, his cooking utensils, his trunks of clothes -and the animal accepted it all. As they were leaving, the man remembered a beautiful blue feather his father had given him. He retrieved it and placed it on the camel's back. With that, the animal collapsed of the weight and died. 鈥淢y camel couldn't even bear the weight of a feather,鈥� the man must have thought. Sometimes we think the same of others -without understanding that our little joke may have been the drop that caused the goblet of suffering to overflow.
Un livre qu'on lit lentement, quelques pages chaque jour sur lesquels on aime r茅fl茅chir. Ce qui a commenc茅 tr猫s fort est malheureusement devenu un peu r茅p茅titif et plus g茅n茅rique, moins profond comme r茅flexion au fils des pages. Un livre d'all茅gories philosophiques et religieuses, sur les th猫mes classiques, vie, bonheur, amour, partage, etc. Bref les valeurs 脿 avoir ou 脿 d茅velopper. J'aurais aim茅 qu'il conserve sa grande profondeur tout au long du livre, mais malgr茅 quelques passages plus l茅gers, j'ai bien appr茅ci茅 ma lecture et certaines pages m'ont permis de r茅fl茅chir sur des sujets tr猫s int茅ressants, donc le tout valait amplement la peine.
Mektub kaleme al谋n谋艧谋 itibariyle k谋ssadan hisseler anlatmak isteyen bir tarzda kaleme al谋nm谋艧 olabilir, ama anlat谋m bi莽imi ve hikaye anlat谋c谋l谋臒谋 bence olduk莽a k枚t眉, k谋sa pasajlar谋n k谋sal谋臒谋 bile olduk莽a rahats谋z edici. Haks谋zl谋k ediyorsam da bu i艧in tabi okur olarak bana g枚re olan boyutu