Paul Coelho

Stories

Learning to live with some wounds

During the Ice Age many animals died because of the cold. Seeing this situation, the
porcupines decided to group together, so they wrapped up well and protected one
another.

But they hurt one another with their thorns, and so then they decided to stay apart
from one another.

They started to freeze to death again.

So they had to make a choice: either they vanished from the face of the earth or they
accepted their neighbor’s thorns.

They wisely decided to stay together again. They learned to live with the small
wounds that a very close relationship could cause, because the most important thing
was the warmth given by the other.

And in the end they survived.

Destroying and rebuilding

I am invited to go to Guncan-Gima, the site of a Zen Buddhist temple. When I get
there, I am surprised to see that the extraordinarily beautiful building, which is
situated in the middle of a vast forest, is right next to a huge piece of waste ground.

I ask what the waste ground is for and the man in charge explains (I can’t verify if it is
true, but it must be):

‘That is where we will build the next temple.

‘Every twenty years, we destroy the temple you see before you now and rebuild it
again on the site next to it.
‘This means that the monks who have trained as carpenters, stonemasons and
architects are always using their practical skills and passing them on to their
apprentices.
‘ It also shows them that nothing in this life is eternal and that even temples are in
need of constant improvement.’

Incompetence behind authority

Jean was walking with his grandfather through a public square in Paris.
At a certain point, he saw a shoemaker being mistreated by a client, whose footwear
showed a flaw. The shoemaker listened calmly to the complaint and apologized,
promising to correct the error.

Jean and his grandfather stopped to have coffee at a bistro.

At the table next to them, the waiter asked a man to move his chair a little in order to
make space. That man burst into a torrent of complaints and refused to move.
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Stories

“Never forget what you have seen today,” Jean’s grandfather said, “the shoemaker
accepted the complaint, while this man next to us didn’t want to move.

“Useful men, who do useful things, don’t mind being treated as useless.

“But the useless always judge themselves as being important and hide all their
incompetence behind authority.”•

The rich and the poor boy

An old Arab story goes that two boys – one rich and the other poor – were returning
home from the market.

The rich boy bought honey-covered cookies and the poor one, a piece of old bread.

‘I will let you eat my cookie if you play the dog for me,’ the rich boy said.

The poor boy accepted and, on his fours on the walkway, he began to eat the rich
boy’s goodies.

The wise man Fath, who was watching the scene, said:

‘If this poor boy had a little bit of dignity he would find out a way of making money.

‘But he prefers to turn into the rich boy’s dog in order to eat his cookies.
‘Tomorrow, when he is grown up, he will do the same for a public office and will be
capable of betraying his country for a bag of gold.’

The giant tree

A carpenter and his apprentices were travelling through the province of Qi in search
of building materials.
They saw a giant tree; five men all holding hands could not encompass its girth, and
its crown reached almost to the clouds.

‘Let’s not waste our time with this tree,’ said the master carpenter. ‘It would take us
for ever to cut it down. If we wanted to make a ship out of that heavy trunk, the ship
would sink. If we tried to use it to build a roof, the walls would have to be specially
reinforced.’

The group continued on its way. One of the apprentices remarked:

‘Such a big tree and no use to anyone!’

‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ said the master carpenter. ‘The tree was true to its own
destiny.
“If it had been like all the others, we would have cut it down. But because it had the
courage to be different, it will remain alive and strong for a long time yet.’
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Stories

Men and women were not as they are now

“According to him [Plato], at the beginning of creation, men and women were not as
they are now; there was just one being, who was rather short, with a body and a neck,
but his head had two faces, looking in different directions. It was as if two creatures
had been glued back to back, with two sets of sex organs, four legs and four arms.

“The Greek gods, however, were jealous, because this creature with four arms work
harder; with its two faces, it was always vigilant and could not be taken by surprise;
and its four legs meant that it could stand or walk for long periods at a time without
tiring. Even more dangerous was the fact that the creature had two different sets of
sex organs and so needed no one else in order to continue reproducing.

“Zeus, the supreme lord of Olympus, said: ‘I have a plan to make these mortals lose
some of their strength.’

“And he cut the creature in two with a lightning bolt, thus creating man and woman.
This greatly increased the population of the world, and, at the same time, disoriented
and weakened its inhabitants, because now they had to search for their lost half and
embrace it and, in that embrace, regain their former strength, their ability to avoid
betrayal and the stamina to walk for long periods of time and to withstand hard work.
That embrace in which the two bodies re-fuse to become one again is what we call
sex.”

The two jewels

A deeply religious Rabbi lived happily with his family, an admirable woman and two
dear sons. One time, he had to be away from home for several days due to work.
When he was away, a serious car accident killed his two boys.

Alone, the mother suffered in silence. But being a strong woman, backed up by her
faith and trust in God, she endured the shock with dignity and bravery. However, she
constantly worried how she was going to break this sad news to her husband. Even
though he was a man of faith, he had already been admitted to the hospital for cardiac
problems in the past and his wife feared that learning about the tragedy would kill him
too.

On the eve of her husband’s arrival, she prayed earnestly and was given the grace of
an answer.

On the following day, the Rabbi returned home, embraced his wife warmly and asked
for their sons.
His wife told him not to worry about that, he should take a shower and rest.

Hours later, both of them sat down to have lunch.

She asked him for details about his journey, he told her about everything he had
experienced, spoke of God’s mercy, but asked about the boys again.
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His wife, in a quiet embarrassed posture, answered her husband, “Leave them alone,
we’ll worry about them later. First I want you to help me solve a problem I consider
serious.”•

Her husband, already worried, asked, “What happened? I noticed you are worn! Tell
me everything that goes through your soul and I am sure we will solve any problem
together, with the help of God.”•

“While you were away, a friend of ours visited me and left two jewels of incalculable
worth for us to save. Those are very precious jewels! I have never seen something so
stunning! He is coming to get them back and I don’t want to give them back to him as
I have already taken a liking to them. What do you say?”•

“Well now, woman! I don’t understand you! Vanities have never appealed to you!”•
“It is that I had never seen such jewels! I can’t accept the idea of losing them
forever!”•

And the Rabbi answered:

“No one loses what he doesn’t own. Keeping them would be like stealing! We are
going to return them and I will help you get over them. We will do that together,
today.”•

“Very well, my dear, as you wish. The treasure will be returned. In truth, that has
already been done. The precious jewels were our sons. God trusted us their guard and
during your trip he came to get them. They are gone…”•

The Rabbi embraced his wife, and together they shed many tears, but he had
understood the message and from that day on they fought to overcome the loss
together.

All we need is today

“All we need is the morning. As long as there is sunrise, then there is the possibility
that we can face all of our misfortunes, celebrate all our blessings, and live all our
endeavors as human beings.
Spirituality is something that has become necessary in these troubled times. Yet it is
inherently superfluous.
We need it to remind ourselves, to bolster ourselves, to integrate ourselves, to fulfill
ourselves.
If we could simply acknowledge the mystery of night and the glory of morning, we
would need neither civilization nor spirituality.

At its simplest, life begins with dawn. That is blessing enough. All else becomes
fullness immeasurable. At dawn, kneel down and give thanks for this wonderful
event.
We may think mornings are so common they are unworthy of veneration, but do you
realize most places in the cosmos do not have mornings?
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This daily event is our supreme goodness. Greet the dawn. That is your miracle to
witness. That is the ultimate beauty. That is sacredness. That is your gift from heaven.
That is knowledge that life is not futile. That is enlightenment. That is your meaning
in life. That is your directive.
That is your comfort. That is the solemnity of duty. That is inspiration for
compassion. That is the light of the ultimate.”

The name of the angel

A baby asked God, “They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am
I going to live there being so small and helpless?”

“Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.”

The child further inquired, “But tell me, here in heaven I don’t have to do anything
but sing and smile to be happy.”

God said, “Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel
your angel’s love and be very happy.”

Again the child asked, “And how am I going to be able to understand when people
talk to me if I don’t know the language?”

God said, “Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever
hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.”

“And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?”

God said, “Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to
pray.”

“Who will protect me?”

God said, “Your angel will defend you even if it means risking it’s life.”

“But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.”

God said, “Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to
come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.”

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be
heard and the child hurriedly asked, “God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my
angel’s name.”

“You will simply call her, ‘Mom.'”

 Paul Coelho
Stories

Life explained
On the first day God created the dog. God said, “Sit all day by the door of your house
and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. I will give you a life span of twenty
years.” The dog said, “That’s too long to be barking. Give me ten years and I’ll give
you back the other ten.”
So God agreed.

On the second day God created the monkey. God said, “Entertain people, do monkey
tricks and make them laugh. I’ll give you a twenty-year life span.” The monkey said,
“Monkey tricks for twenty years? I don’t think so. Dog gave you back ten, so that’s
what I’ll do too, okay?”
And God agreed.

On the third day God created the cow. “You must go to the field with the farmer all
day long and suffer under the sun, have calves, and give milk to support the farmer. I
will give you a life span of sixty years.”
The cow said, “That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. Let me
have twenty and I’ll give back the other forty.”
And God agreed again.

On the fourth day God created man. God said, “Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your
life. I’ll give you twenty years.”
Man said, “What? Only twenty years? Tell you what, I’ll take my twenty, and the
forty the cow gave back, and the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave
back, that makes eighty, okay?”

Okay,” said God, “You’ve got a deal.”

So that is why the first twenty years we eat, sleep, play, and enjoy ourselves; the next
forty years we slave in the sun to support our family; the next ten years we do monkey
tricks to entertain the grandchildren; and the last ten years we sit on the front porch
and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

When Generosity Means Saying “No”

Saying ‘No’ does not always show a lack of generosity and that saying ‘Yes’ is not
always a virtue.” – Paulo Coelho

To follow up on an earlier post, I wanted to take the time to address one of the most
common myths surrounding generosity: that being generous means saying yes to
people.

As I see it, the opposite is often true. This is true in several different contexts:
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1. Sometimes giving people what they want is not what they need/ is not what is in
their best intererests.

We’ve all likely been in situations where people ask us to help them with something
or do something for them that we do not believe to be in their best interests. This can
include, but is certainly no limited to, people struggling with addictive behaviors or
codependency. It can be particularly challenging to say no in these situations,
especially when there is an emotional investment in the other person or when the
other person responds with threats, intimidation, passive aggressiveness, or any other
type of manipulation. The two most important things to remember in these situations
are 1) to not take the other person’s request/ behavior/ communication personally and
2) to uphold your boundaries. I will write more about how to say no specifically in my
next post.

2. Saying yes to too often causes us to be spread too thin. This can lead to stressed
inputs, medicore outputs, and commitments left undone.

It is important to remember that when we say yes to everything, we are actually

allowing the things that we will end up not finishing/ not doing well up to chance. The
way I see it, it much more preferable to prioritize and decide for ourselves what we
wish to devote our time, attention, and energy on. In the words of Suzette Hinton,
““We must say “no” to what, in our heart, we don’t want. We must say “no” to doing
things out of obligation, thereby cheating those important to us of the purest
expression of our love. We must say “no” to treating ourselves, our health, our needs
as not as important as someone else’s.” Until we learn how to say NO to the many
things that are constantly vying for our attention, we will always say YES to so many
things. One all too common cause of a regretful life is a life that failed to balance YES
and NO. A life that did not recognize when to courageously say NO and when to
confidently say YES!

3. Saying Yes when we mean No cheapens our word, diminishes our sense of self-
respect, and compromises our integrity.

Saying Yes out of a sense of duty, guilt, obligation, insecurity, inadequacy, a desire to
be liked, or a desire to maintain the peace is a recipe for diminished self-esteem and
self-worth. People pleasers often struggle to say no, even if saying yes makes them
feel uncomfortable. What we don’t recognize in the moment is that saying Yes is only
a temporary band-aid solution for our underlying insecurities, inadequacies, and other
feelings that we will have to address at some point. Saying yes under the pretense of
saving a relationship is only a front for a crumbling relationship foundation that must
be addressed.

Remember that what you do not do determines what you do. You can be just as proud
of the things you have not done as the things you have done. It’s only by saying no
that you can concentrate on the things that really matter.
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Stories

A story by Kahlil Gibran

I was strolling in the gardens of an insane asylum when I met a young man who was
reading a philosophy book.

His behavior and his evident good health made him stand out from the other inmates.

I sat down beside him and asked:

‘What are you doing here?’

He looked at me, surprised. But seeing that I was not one of the doctors, he replied:

‘It’s very simple. My father, a brilliant lawyer, wanted me to be like him. My uncle,
who owns a large emporium, hoped I would follow his example. My mother wanted
me to be the image of her beloved father. My sister always set her husband before me
as an example of the successful man. My brother tried to train me up to be a fine
athlete like himself.

And the same thing happened at school, with the piano teacher and the English
teacher – they were all convinced and determined that they were the best possible
example to follow. None of them looked at me as one should look at a man, but as if
they were looking in a mirror.

So I decided to enter this asylum. At least here I can be myself.’

From “The book of the five rings”

1. Accept everything just the way it is.
2. Do not seek pleasure for its own sake.
3. Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling.
4. Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.
5. Be detached from desire your whole life long.
6. Do not regret what you have done.
7. Never be jealous.
8. Never let yourself be saddened by a separation.
9. Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself nor others.
10. Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love.
11. In all things have no preferences.
12. Be indifferent to where you live.
13. Do not pursue the taste of good food.
14. Do not hold on to possessions you no longer need.
15. Do not act following customary beliefs.
16. Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.
17. Do not fear death.
18. Do not seek to possess either goods or fiefs for your old age.
19. Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help.
20. You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honour.
21. Never stray from the Way
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Stories

I can’t wait for the day when life finally makes sense
I can’t wait for the day when life finally makes sense, when we find the silver lining
in every tragedy, when we learn the lesson from each mistake and when we
understand why our hearts needed to get broken a few times to let love in.

I can’t wait for the day that we understand why we met the right people at the wrong
time or the wrong people at the right time and why our lives didn’t align to bring us
together.

I wonder if it’s because they’re the wrong ones for us or because we still have a
lot of growing up to do and we’re meant to be with someone who understand
who we’re becoming not who we were.

I can’t wait for the day that we understand the lesson behind every struggle. Why we
struggled to be successful, why we struggled to find love, why we struggled to reach
our dreams and why we lost people who meant the world to us. I wonder if we needed
these lessons to learn how to appreciate life and feel the pain of others or we just
needed to learn that there is no living without suffering.

I can’t wait for the day that we understand why we had to hate ourselves to love
ourselves, why we had to destroy ourselves to build ourselves up again and why we
had to start over just before we got to the finish line. I wonder who saved us or who
inspired us to save ourselves.

I wonder if we are meant to be reborn a few times so we can learn how to truly
live. I want to know what triggered us to change and how we can no longer
recognize who we used to be.

I can’t wait for the day that we understand why we keep falling for the wrong ones
over and over again, why we can’t forget those who hurt us and why we sometimes
can still forgive them and take them back. I want to understand how our hearts
operate, how they function, how they move us to do things we would never do and
lead us to places that we know we shouldn’t go to.

I’m curious to know why we listen to it, why we follow it blindly like it never got
us lost before, why we trust it even though it left us broken and why do we
always go back to it for questions when it keeps giving us the wrong answers. I
wonder if there will come a day when we stop listening to it and if we’ll ever be
truly alive without it.

They say everything happens for a reason and I truly believe that, but I also want to
know what this reason is and why it chose us. Why some reasons keep recurring and
why some reasons leave us even more perplexed. I want to understand why we go
through certain things, what’s the message behind it and what if we never respond to
this message, what if we just ignore it and keep living, what will happen then? Will
our lives get lost in translation?
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I can’t wait for the day that life makes sense – some days I understand why certain
things happened and others I’m not so sure, but all I know is that somehow we’ll
connect the dots and someday we’ll complete the puzzle, until then, we have to learn
how to live our lives without trying to understand it and we have to learn how to be
comfortable with the irony and uncertainty of life; otherwise we’ll lose our common
sense trying to make sense of the life we’re living.

Are you Stubborn Enough About Your Creativity?

We are all told that compromise is a good virtue to keep everyone happy and maintain
balanced relationships. But will you be happy compromising on your talent and
creativity? Will you reach your goals if you keep on compromising? If your answer to
any of these questions is a no; then stop compromising right away. It is not a merry
world and you won’t excel in your work if we keep compromising our creativity

Compromise is a good virtue, agreed. But when it comes to anything related to your
creativity and talent, do not compromise. Do not accept anything less than what you
can offer. If you are confident about your work do not give in to the pressures from
seniors. Rather, you can prove your worth by not settling in for the obvious route.

People always take the path most traveled; and creative people often tread on the less
traveled. This is what makes them different from the rest of the world. They know
that they can change norms of everyday life by just being themselves.

There are times at work place when you want to do a project in a certain way, but the
top management asks you to follow the traditional method. At times when you have
your specific tone of work; your seniors want to tamper with it. During such phases in
your career you have to stand up for your own unique identity; your creativity and
talent.

Creativity and Talent is Not for Compromise

Rod Judkins, in his book ‘The Art of Creative Thinking’; has given a beautiful
example of Paulo Coelho and how he did not compromise given the external pressure.
Coelho knew since his teenage days that he wanted to become a writer; which was
brushed off as madness by his family. His parents wanted him to have a secure and
more respectable profession; like a lawyer. They were so much opposed to his dreams
that they went to an extent of admitting him to a mental institute for 3 times; to
arguably ‘save’ him from writing.

Coelho refused to compromise. He was confident in his talent and he made a point not
to compromise on it. Once sure about the path; Paulo Coelho went on to become the
most famous writer of his generation. His book ‘The Alchemist’ is reportedly
translated into eighty languages, and has sold 65 million copies globally. By
remaining stubborn and not giving in to family pressures, Coelho achieved his dream
and became an international inspiration.
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Stories

Be Flexible Enough

As creative people, everyone has their own set of ideals and visions. It is necessary
that you respect your own creativity and vision rather than settling in for the obvious.
Of course, do not be stubborn if you have to be a little flexible for co-workers or if
you have to put in extra efforts for outputs. Be available whenever people need your
help. Also try to follow the work place rules of your organization when it comes to
your habits and work styles.

Note that you need to be stubborn only about the quality of work you deliver, your
goals, and your creativity and talent. For everything else – Compromise is genuinely a
good virtue!!

Quotes from my books

. When you are afraid of change:
“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness
to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has
happened or in saying that we are not ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does
not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to
accept our destiny.”

2. When you are misunderstood or maligned:

“Don’t explain. Your friends do not need it, and your enemies will not believe you.”

3. When you feel disappointed about a failure:

“But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it’s
better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated
without ever knowing what you’re fighting for.”

4. When you are unsure of who your true friends are:

“Our true friends are those who are with us when the good things happen. They cheer
us on and are pleased by our triumphs. False friends only appear at difficult times,
with their sad, supportive faces, when, in fact, our suffering is serving to console them
for their miserable lives.”

5. After a break-up:
“When someone leaves, it’s because someone else is about to arrive.”
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6. When you grow envious of other people:

“Some people appear to be happy, but they simply don’t give the matter much
thought. Others make plans: I’m going to have a husband, a home, two children, a
house in the country. As long as they’re busy doing that, they’re like bulls looking for
the bullfighter: they react instinctively, they blunder on, with no idea where the target
is. They get their car, sometimes they even get a Ferrari, and they think that’s the
meaning of life, and they never question it. Yet their eyes betray the sadness that even
they don’t know they carry in their soul. Are you happy?”

7. When you feel overwhelmed by everything in your

life:
“Close some doors today. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply
because they lead you nowhere.”

8. When it’s time to let go:

“It is always important to know when something has reached its end. Closing circles,
shutting doors, finishing chapters, it doesn’t matter what we call it; what matters is to
leave in the past those moments in life that are over.”

9. When you are afraid to love:

“Love is always new. Regardless of whether we love once, twice, or a dozen times in
our life, we always face a brand-new situation. Love can consign us to hell or to
paradise, but it always takes us somewhere. We simply have to accept it, because it is
what nourishes our existence. If we reject it, we die of hunger, because we lack the
courage to reach out a hand and pluck the fruit from the branches of the tree of life.
We have to take love where we find it, even if it means hours, days, weeks of
disappointment and sadness. The moment we begin to seek love, love begins to seek
us. And to save us.”

10. When you feel like you can’t hold on anymore:

“It is said that the darkest hour of the night comes just before the dawn.”

11. When your haters hate on you:

“The world is divided into those who understand me and those who don’t. In the case
of the latter, I simply leave them to torment themselves trying to gain my sympathy.”

12. When you feel suppressed by others’ expectations:

“Everyone believes that the main aim in life is to follow a plan. They never ask if that
plan is theirs or if it was created by another person. They accumulate experiences,
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Stories

memories, things, other people’s ideas, and it is more than they can possibly cope
with. And that is why they forget their dreams.”

13. When you lose something or somebody you love:

“Tragedy always brings about radical change in our lives, a change that is associated
with the same principle: loss. When faced by any loss, there’s no point in trying to
recover what has been; it’s best to take advantage of the large space that opens up
before us and fill it with something new.”

14. When you find it so hard to forgive:

“I forgive the tears I was made to shed, I forgive the pain and the disappointments, I
forgive the betrayals and the lies, I forgive the slanders and intrigues, I forgive the
hatred and the persecution, I forgive the blows that hurt me, I forgive the wrecked
dreams, I forgive the stillborn hopes, I forgive the hostility and jealousy, I forgive the
indifference and ill will, I forgive the injustice carried out in the name of justice, I
forgive the anger and the cruelty, I forgive the neglect and the contempt, I forgive the
world and all its evils… I also forgive myself. May the misfortunes of the past no
longer weigh on my heart. Instead of pain and resentment, I choose understanding and
compassion. Instead of rebellion, I choose the music from my violin. Instead of grief,
I choose forgetting. Instead of vengeance, I choose victory. I will be capable of
loving, regardless of whether I am loved in return, of giving, even when I have
nothing, of working happily, even in the midst of difficulties, of holding out my hand,
even when utterly alone and abandoned, of drying my tears, even while I weep, of
believing, even when no one believes in me… So it is. So it will be.”

15. When you hit rockbottom:

“When I had nothing more to lose, I was given everything. When I ceased to be who I
am, I found myself. When I experienced humiliation and yet kept on walking, I
understood that I was free to choose my destiny.”

Change and renewal

When winter arrives, the trees must sigh in sadness as they see their leaves falling.

They say: ‘We will never be like we were before.’

Of course.

Or still, what is the meaning of renewing oneself? The next leaves will have their own
nature, they pertain to a new summer that approaches and which will never be like the
one that passed.
Living means changing – and the seasons repeat these lessons to us every year.

Changing means going through a period of depression: we still don’t know the new
and we have to forget everything we used to know.
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But if we are a little patient, spring ends up arriving and we forget the winter of our
hopelessness.

Change and renewal are the laws of life.

It is best to get used to them and not suffer about things that only exist to bring us joy.

The duck and the cat

“How did you start your spiritual life?” asked one of the Sufi master Shams Tabrizi’s
disciples.

“My mother used to say that I was neither crazy enough to check in into a mad house
nor saintly enough to enter a monastery,” Tabrizi answered.

“So I decided to devote myself to Sufism, where we learn through free meditation.”

“And how did you explain it to your mother?”

“With the following fable: someone entrusted a little cat to take care of a duck. The
duck followed his adoptive mother everywhere until the day both of them reached a
lake. Immediately, the duck plunged into the water while the cat yelled at the border:
‘get out of there! You’ll drown!’”

“And the little duck answered: ‘no, mommy, I discovered what is good for me and I
can tell I am in my environment. I will stay here even if you don’t know what a lake
means.’”

Inner and outer values

Abu Muhammad al-Jurayry used to say: “Religion has treasures that enrich us. There
are five inner and five outer treasures we should strive for. All of those who follow
the spiritual path must be aware of them.”

“These are the inner treasures: own the ability to be truthful, exercise detachment
from our possessions, display humbleness in appearance and strive for both, balance
to avoid disagreements and strength to react to them.”

“And these are the outer treasures: discover a supreme Love, be intelligent to see our
own flaws, be conscious of everything that happens in life and be grateful for the
received blessings.”

The natural order

A very wealthy man asked a Zen master for a text which would always remind him
how happy he was with his family.

The Zen master took some parchment and, in beautiful calligraphy, wrote:
 Paul Coelho
Stories

“The father dies. The son dies. The grandson dies.”

“What?” said the furious rich man. “I asked you for something to inspire me, some
teaching which might be respectfully contemplated by future generations, and you
give me something as depressing and gloomy as these words?”

“You asked me for something which would remind you of the happiness of living
together with your family.

“If your son dies first, everyone will be devastated by the pain. If your grandson dies,
it would be an unbearable experience.

“However, if your family disappears in the order which I placed on the paper, this is
the natural course of life.

“Thus, although we all endure moments of pain, the generations will continue, and
your legacy will last.” –

The black man

We are at the restaurant of a German University. A red haired student, and undeniably
German takes her tray and sits down at her table.
She then realizes she has forgotten her cutlery and gets up again to pick it up.

Coming back, she sees with astonishment that a black man, possibly sub-Saharian by
his appearance, is sitting there and is eating from her tray.
Straight away, the young woman feels lost and stressed . But immediately changes her
thought and presumes that the African is not familiar with European customs
concerning private property and privacy.
She also takes into consideration that perhaps he does not have enough money to pay
for his meal.

In any case, she decides to sit in front of the guy and to smile at him in a friendly
manner.
The African responds with another dazzling smile.
The German girl starts to help herself, -sharing the food with the black man with
genuine pleasure and courtesy.
And thus, he took the salad, she ate the soup, both took their share of the stew, one
took care of the yoghurt and the other of the piece of fruit,
All this peppered with numerous refined smiles – timid from the man and smoothly,
encouraging and kind by the girl -.
They eat up their lunch.
The German girl gets up to get a coffee.
And it is then that she discovers, on the table behind the black man, her coat placed on
the back of a chair and her food tray untouched.

________________________
 Paul Coelho
Stories

I dedicated this charming story – furthermore an authentic one – to all who are wary
of immigrants and consider them as inferior individuals.
To all these people, who with the best of intentions, observe them condescendingly
and with paternalism.
It would be better that we free ourselves of prejudices or we run the risk to make a
fool of ourselves like the poor German who thought to be at the height of civilisation
whilst the African greatly educated, let her eat and share her meal and at the same
time was thinking :; how mad these Europeans are.’

Paulo Coelho’s 5 Smartest Advices for Students

When Paolo Coelho wrote and released “The Alchemist,” his first publisher dropped
the book because the sales were bad. Fortunately, he found another publisher who had
more faith in it and the rest became history. “The Alchemist” encourages a person to
reconsider how he views life and helped establish Coleho as an inspirational writer.
Here are some of the smartest advice from the book that will prove helpful how you
view life not only as a student but in general.

Action is the first step to success

Success will not come if you don’t take a step first. Taking action is also the only way
to learn. You can study more, read more, listen more but if you don’t take any action,
all those knowledge remains a knowledge. On the other hand, success comes when
you turn that knowledge into action.

Compensate your weakness with your strength

All of us have their own weaknesses and strengths. However, weaknesses should not
stop you from being successful and earning the respect of others. Instead, focus on
your strength instead of your weakness.

Persevere

In “The Alchemist,” there’s a quote there that says if you really want something, the
universe conspires in helping you get that dream. There might be something you’ll
encounter that will make you doubt your dream but yo have to keep your focus and be
obsessed with your dream.

Rejection is normal

Paulo loved writing and believes in himself. He recounted a story where he passed
some of his poetry in a reputable magazine but got humiliated in return. He took it
personally at first but eventually got over the rejection. The experience encouraged
him to make himself better.
 Paul Coelho
Stories

Getting a corporate job does not necessarily mean success

Getting a job in the corporate world might pay you a lot of money but that does not
necessarily mean success. Doing what you love doing is a gift that only a few enjoys
but not impossible to achieve.

the search to be different

Do you know exactly where you are now?

You are in a city, along with a lot of other people, and it is highly likely that, at this
very moment, various people are sheltering in their hearts the same hopes and
anxieties that you are sheltering in yours.

Let us go further: you are a microscopic speck on the surface of a ball. This ball spins
around another ball, which, in turn, is located in one tiny corner of a galaxy along
with millions of other similar balls.

This galaxy forms part of something called the Universe, full of vast star clusters. No
one knows exactly where this Universe begins and ends.

This does not mean that you are not of vital importance; you struggle, you strive, you
try to improve, you have dreams, you are made happy or sad by love. You are
UNIQUE

If you were not alive, something would be missing.

Which is the best example to follow?

Dov Beer of Mezeritch was asked:

‘Which is the best example to follow? That of the pious man who dedicates his life to
God without ever asking why, or that of the erudite man, who tries to understand the
will of the Almighty?’

‘The best example to follow is that of the child,’ replied Dov Beer.

‘But a child knows nothing. It doesn’t even understand what reality is!’ was the
general response.

‘There you are much mistaken, because the child has four qualities that we should
never forget. A child is always happy for no reason. A child is always busy. When a
child wants something, he or she shows great persistence and determination in
demanding that thing. Lastly, a child is always very quick to stop crying.’
 Paul Coelho
Stories

The dark side

You may see someone who smiles all the time and does silly things but you have no
idea what he is going through or what burden he carries within. People are so
judgmental and you have to deal with them every single day; you must pretend that
everything is fine, otherwise they are going to “delve into” info in order to learn what
is going on by simply asking questions (not that they are interested in how you feel
but because they want to gossip about it).

Indeed, it is really annoying, due to the fact that people do not give a f*** about you.
This is just how human nature works. Personally, I do not want to give explanations
to nosy people or to those with whom I work – It does not mean that we are friends
because we happen to work at the same place– I know how to deal with my own
problems and “demons”. As a person, I have a different perspective and angle for life;
I am different from the others and so I see things with my own “theories”. I like to
stay at home, watching the stars above and talking to myself without hearing any
annoying voices or sounds. This is really nice, because you can handle “situations”
that you are going through and work them over in your mind. Let’s say it is just like
doing “self-therapy”, which I find really effective. You should give it a shot! You
learn to ignore the negative vibes and focus on your problems. You may not find the
solution right away, but you will feel much better.

Talking to yourself, it is not madness because it is the way we talk to God. He knows
why you have to deal with this problem but you have to be patient. Everything has
something to teach us and with His help you will find the way out. Think positive and
be yourself no matter what. Do not forget that you are unique and you have to stay
strong, move on and focus on your target.

TIP: When nosy people try to learn something about you by persistently asking
questions, do not pretend that everything is fine just breathe and let it go. Do not give
them the pleasure to find out the truth, just smile at them and let them imagine
whatever they want. (At the end of the day, they are going to gossip about you,
anyway!)

Success
Success comes to those who do not waste time comparing what they are doing with
what others are doing; it enters the house of the person who says every day: ‘I will do
my best.’

People who seek only success rarely find it, because success is not an end in itself, but
a consequence.

Obsession doesn’t help at all, it becomes confused as to which path to follow and ends
up taking away the pleasure of living.

The truly rich person is the one who is in contact with the energy of Love every
second of his existence.
 Paul Coelho
Stories

You must have a goal in mind, but, as you go along, it costs nothing to stop now and
then and enjoy the view around you.

At such moments, it is important to ask yourself: ‘Are my values still intact? Am I

trying to please others and do what they expect of me, or am I really convinced that
my work is a manifestation of my soul and my enthusiasm? Do I want success at any
price or do I want to be a successful person because I manage to fill my days with
Love?’

A Story
A medieval legend tells us that in the country we know today as Austria the Burkhard
family – a man, a woman and a child – used to amuse people at Christmas parties by
reciting poetry, singing ancient troubadour ballads, and juggling. Of course, there was
never any money left over to buy presents, but the man always told his son:

“Do you know why Santa Claus’s bag never gets empty, although there are so many
children in the world? Because it may be full of toys, but sometimes there are more
important things to be delivered, what we call “invisible gifts”•. In a broken home,
he tries to bring harmony and peace on the holiest night in Christianity. Where love is
lacking, he deposits a seed of faith in children’s hearts. Where the future seems black
and uncertain, he brings hope. In our case, the day after Father Christmas comes to
visit us, we are happy to be still alive and doing our work, which is to make people
happy. Never forget that.”•

Time passed, the boy grew up, and one day the family passed in front of the
impressive Melk Abbey, which had just been built. The young Burkhard wanted to
become a priest. The family understood and respected the boy’s wish. They knocked
at the door of the monastery and were given generous welcome by the monks, who
accepted the young Buckhard as a novice.

Christmas Eve came around. And precisely on that day, a special miracle happened in
Melk: Our Lady, carrying the baby Jesus in her arms, decided to descend to Earth to
visit the monastery.

All the priests lined up and each of them stood proudly before the Virgin trying to pay
homage to the Madonna and her Son.

At the very end of the line, young Buckhard anxiously waited his turn. His parents
were simple people, and all that they had taught him was to toss balls up in the air and
do some juggling.

When it came his turn, the other priests wanted to put an end to all the homage that
had been paid, since the ex-juggler had nothing important to add and might even mar
the image of the abbey.

Nevertheless, deep in his heart he also felt a great need to give something of himself
to Jesus and the Virgin. Feeling very ashamed before the reproachful gaze of his
brothers, he took some oranges from his pocket and began to toss them in the air and
catch them in his hands, creating a beautiful circle in the air.
 Paul Coelho
Stories

At that instant, the baby Jesus, lying in Our Lady’s lap, began to clap his hands with
joy. And it was to young Buckhard that the Virgin held out her arms to let him hold
the smiling child for a few moments.