by Paulo Coelho

Here are some of my fave lines from the book;

“That’s because, like everyone else on the planet, you believed that time would teach you to grow closer to God. But time doesn’t teach; it merely brings us the sense of weariness and of growing older.”

“Our life is a constant journey, from birth to death. The landscape changes, the people change, our needs change, but the train keeps on moving. Life is a train, not the station. And what you’re doing now isn’t travelling, it’s just changing countries, which is completely different.”

“I know only that a life without cause is a life without effect.”

“We always tend to value what comes from afar, never recognizing the beauty around us.”

“But I learned that only after I’d been repeating the same gesture for so many years, until the moment came when I didn’t have to think- I simply let my hand guide my work.”

“There is a proverb in Portuguese, that says, ‘What can’t be cured must be endured.’”

“What hurts us is what heals us.”

“Don’t think about what you’ll tell people afterward, The time is here and now. Make the most of it.”

“There’s no point explaining that all we achieve by extracting revenge is to make ourselves the equals of our enemies, whereas by forgiving we show wisdom and intelligence.”

“If you spend too much time trying to find out what is good or bad about someone else, you’ll forget your own soul and end up exhausted and defeated by the energy you have wasted in judging others.”

“If you want to see a rainbow you have to learn too like the rain.”

“Place all your feelings outside yourself and you will be renewed.” (show your feelings)

“don’t be intimidated bi other people’s opinions. Only mediocrity is sure of itself, so take risks and do what you really want to do. Seek out people who aren’t afraid of making mistakes and who therefore, do make mistakes. Because of that, their works often isn’t recognized, but they are precisely the kind of people who change the world and, after many mistakes, do something that will transform their own community completely.”

“I mean that either two people can spend their whole life living and working together or they can meet only once and say goodbye forever simply because they did not pass through the physical point that triggers an outpouring of the thing that brought them together In this world. So they part without even understanding why it was they met. However, if God so wishes, those who once knew love will find each other again.”

“It take huge effort to free yourself from memory, but when you succeed, you start to realize that you’re capable of far more than you imagined. Your live in this vast body called the Universe, which contains all the solutions and all the problems. Visit your soul; Don’t visit your past.”

“Good fighters use their opponent’s energy and turn it back to them. So the more I waste my energy on words, the less convinced I will be of what I’m saying and the easier it will be to get the better of me.”

“True wisdom means respecting the simple things we do, for they can take us where we need to go.”

“It was no coincidence that when I noticed that my life was no longer flowing like a river down to the sea, I decided to go off travelling. I did so because everything around me was threatening to stagnate. Nor was it a coincidence that she should say she was feeling the same.”

“Only someone who can say I LOVE YOU is capable of saying I FORGIVE YOU.”

—————————————————
Somehow, this book made me curious about my past life. What kind of person was I before? Where can I find my Aleph?With who? How will I start practicing the ring-of-light/fire excercise?hmmmm I shall find out soon!!!!!