Challenge Day #7

Paulo Coelho

Monica Haim captures what I believe to be the essence of Paulo Coelho in these words – “Through the many spiritual ruminations of The Big C—he who has tread the paths of the hippie, the Jesuit, the occultist, the lawyer, the mental asylum inhabitant, the writer and the misunderstood son—we can come to terms with the world through the soul of a seeker and the heart of a poet.”

Although I have never met Paulo and I know little about him, his influence on my thinking has been vast. I feel as if we are kindred spirits. He has inspired me as a person, as a spiritual being and as a writer. I envy his ability to wrap a spiritual lesson in a story told in the style of a fable. He is a true Dreamweaver.

Like Coelho I believe, “People never learn anything by being told, they have to find out for themselves.” Like him, I try to build this into my writing and additionally into my teaching. Three themes flow thorough his work: live in the moment, look within and life is a spiritual journey.

Paulo is most famous for his book, The Alchemist, a story about a young shepherd boy who travels through Egypt seeking a treasure—the secret of alchemy and discovers himself. Three quotes from this text have been constant companions as I’ve traveled my life journey:

•        “It’s natural to be afraid of replacing everything you already gained by a dream.”
•        “Just before a dream is fulfilled, the Soul of the World decides to test everything that was learned on the journey.”
•        “If we are faithful to what I call the ‘Personal Legend’, the whole world changes and the things we touch will also turn into the philosophical gold.”

I have held tightly to these ideals as I let go of the comfort of staying in one system until retirement.  As I pursued writing books even when I received a D in Freshman Composition class. Again as I’ve continuously looked at the principles I want to live my life by and questioned what I want my legacy to be. 

If you look for which books most people recommend reading by the Coelho, you won’t often find one of my personal favorites, The Valkyries. When my friend, Tony, recommended it to me, he said I reminded him of a modern day Valkyrie. Maybe that’s why I like it so much. Paulo, the main character, takes a forty day journey wandering through the desert of the southwest seeking the assistance of the Valkyries to find his guardian angel.  The Valkyries share “We are warriors of light.  With the strength of our love, of our will we can change our destiny,

and the destiny of many others.” Wow! Being thought of as a warrior of light sounded like a great honor.  Then I decided to dig a bit deeper into my Scandinavian ancestry and found out that a Valkyrie (pronounced “VAL-ker-ee”; Old Norse valkyrja, plural valkyrjur, “Choosers of the fallen”) is a female helping spirit of the god Odin.  The nice version is that they carry the heroes in battle off to Valhalla. The not so nice version is that they decide in battle who will live and who will die. Not sure I want that kind of power.  I do want; however, to remember that in life we have the ability to help others through love.

All of Paulo Coelho’s books use the symbolism of a journey.  Each is a journey of discovery from brokenness to wholeness. Along the way he reminds us, “We have to stop and be humble enough to understand there is something called mystery.” His work inspires the reader to seek his dreams, to take the most important journey in life—the inward journey to self-discovery. What I’ve learned from this man is the power of story and that all journeys are spiritual journeys if we are paying attention.  

Quotes to Ponder:

•  “And when you want something all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
• “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
• “People are capable at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.”
• “Don’t waste your time with explanations, people only hear what they want to hear.”
• “One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted to do. Do it now.”

Resources:

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