No one owns anything. Anyone who has lost something they thought was theirs forever finally comes to realize that nothing really belongs to them. And if nothing belongs to me, then there's no point wasting my time looking after things that aren't mine.
Paulo CoelhoThousands of years ago, weren't we capable of building enormous structures like the pyramids? Weren't we capable of worshiping gods, weaving, making fire, finding lovers and wives, sending written messages? Of course we were. But although we've succeeded in replacing slaves with wage slaves, all the advances we've made have been in the field of science. Human beings are still asking the same questions as their ancestors. In short, they haven't evolved at all.
Paulo CoelhoIt 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.
Paulo CoelhoEach human being is unique, each with their own qualities, instincts, forms of pleasure, and desire for adventure. However, society always imposes on us a collective ways of behaving, and people never stop to wonder why they should behave like that. They just accept it, the way typists accepted the fact that the QWERTY keyboard was the best possible one. Have you ever met anyone is your entire life who asked why the hands of a clock should go in one particular direction and not the other?
Paulo CoelhoI understand that suffering, when it cannot be avoided, is here to help me on my way to my dreams
Paulo CoelhoAnything that makes us forget who we are and what we want; that way we can work in order to produce, reproduce, and earn money.
Paulo CoelhoGod created the visible world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of his wisdom
Paulo CoelhoBut 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. We have to take love where we find it, even if that means hours, days, weeks of disappointment and sadness.
Paulo CoelhoThe great wisdom of life is that we can be masters of the things that try to enslave us.
Paulo CoelhoEveryday God gives us a moment in which it is possible to change everything that makes us unhappy.
Paulo CoelhoCharisma- the divine force that manifests itself in men and women. The supernatural power we don't need to show to anyone because everyone can see it, even usually insensitive people. But it only happens when we're naked, when we die to the world and are reborn to ourselves.
Paulo CoelhoAnyone who has lost something they thought was theirs forever finally comes to realise that nothing really belongs to them.
Paulo CoelhoI love you because all the loves in the world are like different rivers flowing into the same lake where they meet and are transformed into a single love that becomes rain and blesses the earth.
Paulo CoelhoThere is a language that is beyond words. If I can learn to decipher that language without words, I will be able to decipher the world.
Paulo CoelhoThe parents always insisted on telling their child that their secret friends didn't exist - perhaps because they had forgotten that they too had spoken to their angel at one time. Or, who knows, perhaps they thought they lived in a world where there was no longer any place for angels.
Paulo CoelhoDon't let yourself be weighed down by what other people think, because in a few years, in a few decades, or in a few centuries, that way of thinking will have changed. Live now what others will only live in the future.
Paulo CoelhoSaying ‘No’ does not always show a lack of generosity and that saying ‘Yes’ is not always a virtue
Paulo CoelhoPassion. It can be used to describe the beauty of an earth-shaking meeting between two people, but it isn't just that. It's there in the excitement of the unexpected, in the desire to do something with real fervour, in the certainty that one is going to realise a dream. Passion sends us signals that guide us through our lives.
Paulo CoelhoI don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living now.
Paulo CoelhoWhen 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.
Paulo CoelhoAll the world needs are examples of people capable of living out their dreams and fighting for their ideas.
Paulo CoelhoBut when he thought to complain about the burden of its weight, he remembered that, because he had the jacket, he had withstood the cold of the dawn. We have to be prepared for change, he thought, and he was grateful for the jacket's weight and warmth. The jacket had a purpose, and so did the boy.
Paulo CoelhoTelling the truth and making someone cry is better than telling a lie and making someone smile.
Paulo Coelho