- excerpts from The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho-
Everything will happen as was written by the Lord. There are moments when tribulations occur in our lives, and we cannot avoid them. But they are there for some reason.
What reason?
That is a question we cannot answer before, or even during the trials. Only when we have overcome them do we understand why they were there.
But no one can lose sight of what he desires. Even if there are moments when he believes the world and the others are stronger. The secret is this: do not surrender.
This was freedom: to feel what the heart desired, with no thought to the opinion of the rest.
She was free, for love liberates.
But life is made not of desires but of the acts of each person.
Make use of every moment so that later thou wilt not regret, nor lament having lost thy youth. To every age in the life of a man, the Lord bestoweth upon him its own misgivings.
Some merchants gave me inks of every color, because they want me to write for them. I thought of using them to describe the world I live in, but I know how difficult that is: although I have the colors, only the Lord can mix them with such harmony.
"It's the word love." Elijah took the tablet in his hands, not daring to ask why she had given it to him. On that piece of clay, a few scratches summed up why the stars continued in the heavens and why men walked the earth.
All life's battles teach us something, even those we lost. When you grow up, you'll discover that you have defended lies, deceived yourself, or suffered for foolishness. If you're a good warrior, you will not blame yourself for this, but neither will you allow your mistakes to repeat themselves.
"I am afraid," the boy said insistently. "That proves that you find joy in living. It's normal to feel fear at certain moments."
Why must I choose between saving this city and redeeming my people?
Because a man must choose, therein lies his strength: the power of his decisions.
There is a reason for everything under the sun.
There is no tragedy, only the unavoidable. Everything hath its reason for being: thou needest only distinguish what is temporary from what is lasting.
What is temporary?
The unavoidable.
And what is lasting?
The lessons of the unavoidable.
the meaning of my life is whatever i wanted it to be
When he recovered from the shame, he had ceased to be the same man. He desired neither to die nor to go on living. He desired nothing: he possessed no love, no hate, no faith.
I'm confused, lost in my own guilt. Give me time to find myself.
The unavoidable always happens. You need discipline and patience to overcome it. And hope. When that no longer exists, one can't waste his energy fighting against the impossible. It's not a question of hope in the future. It's a question of re-creating your own past.... To these people, life was a constant triumph and would go on being one....They had achieved everything they desired because they were not limited by the frustrations of the past.
It's not difficult to rebuild a life...... It is enough to be aware that we go on with the same strength that we had before. And to use that in our favor..... If you have a past that dissatisfies you, forget it now. Imagine a new story of your life, and believe in it. Concentrate only on those moments in which you achieved what you desired and this strength will help you accomplish what you want.
Everything that could have happened but did not is carried away with the wind and leaves no trace. Life is made of our attitudes. And there are certain things that the gods oblige us to live through. Their reason for this does not matter, and there is no action we can take to make them pass us by.
The pain you and I feel will never go away, but work will help us to bear it. Suffering has no strength to wound a weary body.
A child can always teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and how to demand with all his might that which he desires.
Why dost though cling fast to an existence so short and so filled with suffering? What is the meaning of thy struggle?
the brave are always stubborn
From heaven, God smiles contentedly, for it was this that He desired, that each person take into his hands the responsibility for his own life. For, in the final analysis, He had given His children the greatest of all gifts: the capacity to choose and determine their acts.
... man must choose - and not accept - his fate...
The essential point was this: to have a name...Each one has a name from birth but must learn to baptize his life with the word he has chosen to give meaning to that life.
can a man cast from his heart the pain of a loss? No. but he can find joy in something won.
A warrior accepts defeat. He does not treat it as a matter of indifference, nor does he attempt to transform it into a victory. The pain of defeat is bitter to him; he suffers at indifference and becomes desperate with loneliness. After all this has passed, he licks his wounds and begins everything anew. A warrior knows that war is made of many battles; he goes on.
Long since, the desert wind wiped away our footprints in the sand. But at every second of my existence, I remember what happened, and you still walk in my dreams and in my reality. Thank you for having crossed my path.
...when we are on high, we can see everything else as small... our glory and our sadness lose their importance. whatever we conquered or lost remains there below. from the heights of the mountain, you see how large the world is, and how wide its horizons.
