The Wisdom of Paulo Coehlo

Life was always a matter of waiting for the right moment to act. ~ Paulo Coehlo

Originally posted October, 2019

Recently as I have been researching information for other pieces I have been encountering the words of Paulo Coehlo, author of The Alchemist, again and again.  I looked up the book on Amazon and read something interesting about the author.  From Wikipedia:

In 1986, Coelho walked the 500-plus mile Road of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, a turning point in his life. On the path, Coelho had a spiritual awakening, which he described autobiographically in The Pilgrimage. In an interview, Coelho stated “[In 1986], I was very happy in the things I was doing. I was doing something that gave me food and water – to use the metaphor in “The Alchemist”, I was working, I had a person whom I loved, I had money, but I was not fulfilling my dream. My dream was, and still is, to be a writer.” Coelho would leave his lucrative career as a songwriter and pursue writing full-time.

Given both my upcoming 2200 mile hike of the Appalachian Trail and my own desire to be a writer, I can only hope for a similar spiritual awakening and similar success.  So tonight some quotes and wisdom from Paulo Coehlo, and if by chance Paulo should read this, a message to him in his native tongue from my time in Brazil, Io tenho saudade para brasil.  Have a read, enjoy and have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane

Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that their neighbour is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the same questions.

I have seen many storms in my life. Most storms have caught me by surprise, so I had to learn very quickly to look further and understand that I am not capable of controlling the weather, to exercise the art of patience and to respect the fury of nature.

Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure.

You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.

he two worst strategic mistakes to make are acting prematurely and letting an opportunity slip; to avoid this, the warrior treats each situation as if it were unique and never resorts to formulae, recipes or other people’s opinions.

When I’m dancing, I’m not thinking about anything. I am here. I am totally there. You know? And the feeling is a sensation of being away from myself. My soul dances with the angels, and my body dances with my wife.

I write from my soul. This is the reason that critics don’t hurt me, because it is me. If it was not me, if I was pretending to be someone else, then this could unbalance my world, but I know who I am.