Words that Found Their Way Into My Mind 4

From Brida by Paulo Coelho

About Your Path of Life & Fear of Mistakes:

• When you find your path, you must not be afraid. You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Disappointment, defeat and despair are the tools God uses to show us our way.
• Path of wisdom means not being afraid to make mistakes.
• What are you good at? 
  Going after what I believe in.
  That was the only possible reply; she spent her life in pursuit of what she believed in. The only problem was that she believed in something different every day.
• Sometimes we set off down a path simply because we don’t believe in it. It’s easy enough. All we have to do is then prove that it isn’t the right path for us. However, when things start to happen, and the path does reveal itself to us, we become afraid of carrying on.
  Wicca said that she didn’t understand why so many people chose to spend their whole life destroying paths they didn’t even want to follow, instead of following the one path that would lead them somewhere
• Whenever you want to find out about something, plunge straight in.
  Choosing a path meant having to miss out on others.
  She wanted to follow all possible paths and so ended up following none.
• How much I missed simply because I was afraid of missing it.
• Finding one important thing in your life, doesn't mean you have to give up all the others.

About Us:

• Judging oneself to be inferior to other people was one of the worst act of pride, because it is the most destructive way of being different.
• We feel guilty when we go out to work because we're leaving our children in order to earn money to feed them. We feel guilty when we stay at home because it seems we're not making the most of our freedom. We feel guilty about everything, because we have always been kept far from decision-making and from power.
• She was a woman and does not need to explain her feelings.

About Love & Soulmate

• The whole of man's life on the face of Earth can be  summed up by that search for his soulmate. He might pretend to be running after wisdom, money or power, but none of that really matters. Whatever he achieves will be incomplete if he fails to find his soulmate.
• True love allowed each person to follow their own path, knowing that they would never lose touch with their soulmate.
• People give flowers as presents because flowers contain the true meaning of love. Anyone who tries to possess a flower will have to watch its beauty fading., ... you will never be mine, and that is why i will never lose you. you were my hope during the days of loneliness, my anxiety during moments of doubt, my certainty during moments of faith.

About Doubts:

• Never stop having doubts. If you ever do, it will be because you have stopped moving forward. ... but you must be careful never to let doubt paralyze you. Always take the decision you need to take, even if you are not sure you are doing the right thing. You will never go wrong, if when you make a decision, you keep in mind an old German proverb: "The devil is in the detail". Remember that proverb, you’ll always be able to turn a wrong decision into a right one.
• What is now proved was once imagined.

About the World:

• Nothing in the world is completely wrong.
  Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

About Faith:

• “That every moment in life is an act of faith.
  That you could choose to fill it with snakes and scorpions or with a strong protecting force.
  That faith cannot be explained. It was simply a Dark Night. And all she (Brida) had to do was to accept it or not.”
  
  

Brida in Paulo's Official Website

The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho

The story is a story of temptation. A desperate man arrives at Viscos village accompanied by a devil. He uses a girl called Chantal to trap the villagers into the temptation of their lives. They are asked to kill someone to get 10 gold bars. It might be an old, idle, and useless person. It doesn’t matter who the victim is. In this novel Paulo poses the following questions:

• Are you a believer?
  If yes, are you clinging to you religious codes and principles?
  If yes, what are your proofs? 
  What are the temptations you survived and  overcame?
  Are they strong ones?
  Are you ready for a strong temptation?
  Are you going to be the good person you think you are?
  Are you going to justify your sin?
  
• Are you good because you fear punishment? or
  Are you good because you are good by nature?
  If the world doesn't have religions or laws to discipline people, would you be disciplined by nature?
  If you know that you won't be punished, would you commit something wrong?
  
• Are you essentially good and get polluted by the surrounding circumstances? Or
  Are you essentially bad and get disciplined by religion, laws, and teaching? Or
  Do you have both sides good and evil, based on the situation the evil or good side dominates?
  
• Temptations, do they vary in kind from one person to another? Is it money, or children, or authority, etc.
  
• Do you justify you sins, even if they are minor ones? Will a little sin bring a major one?

The Devil & Miss Prym in Paulo's Official Website

The Devil & Miss Prym on Wikipedia

Words that Found Their into My Mind 3

From The Devil & Miss Prym

About Good and Evil:

• 'So you see, Good and Evil have the same face; it all depends on when they cross the path of each individual human being.'
• “The only reason anyone would sell salt more cheaply usually would be because he was desperate for money. Anyone who took advantage of that situation would be showing a lack of respect for the sweat and struggle of the man who labored to produce it."
  '"But such a small thing couldn't possibly destroy a village."
  '"In the beginning, there was only a small amount of injustice abroad in the world, but everyone who came afterwards added their portion, always thinking it was very small and unimportant, and look where we have ended up today."
• If Evil triumphed, even if it was in some small, forgotten place with only three streets, a square and a church, it could nevertheless go on to contaminate the valley, the region, the country, the continent, the seas, the whole world.
• Evil would never bring Good, however much they wanted to believe that it would. By the time they discovered the truth, it would be too late.
• '"If, tonight, the most beautiful prostitute in the village came in here, would you be able to see her as neither beautiful nor seductive?"
  '"No, but I would be able to control myself," the saint replied.
  '"And if I offered you a pile of gold coins to leave your cave in the mountain and come and join us, would you be able to look on that gold
  and see only pebbles?"
  '"No, but I would be able to control myself."
  '"And if you were sought by two brothers, one of whom hated you, and the other who saw you as a saint, would you be able to feel the same towards them both?"
  '"It would be very hard, but I would be able to control myself sufficiently to treat them both the same."
  It was all a matter of control. And choice. Nothing more and nothing less.
  

About Paradise and Hell:

• 'That's precisely what I want to find out: are we living in paradise or in hell?' the man said, interrupting her thoughts.
  Good, he was falling into her trap.
  'In paradise. But if you live somewhere perfect for a long time, you get bored with it in the end.'
• A man who found paradise when he thought he was a prisoner to the hell of routine and family, and who found hell when he could at last enjoy paradise and total freedom. That's who I am, a man who has been both good and evil throughout his life, perhaps the person most fitted to reply to my own question about the essence of humanity. (Carlos/the devil’s advocate)
  

About Temptation:

• 'About the nature of human beings. I discovered that confronted by temptation, we will always fall. Given the right circumstances, every human being on this earth would be willing to commit evil. I think'
  

About the Governing Forces of Fear:

• It isn't the desire to abide by the law that makes everyone behave as society requires, but the fear of punishment. Each one of us carries a gallows inside us.
• There was terror in each and every one of the people on that beautiful beach and on that breathtakingly beautiful evening. Terror of being alone, terror of the darkness filling their imaginations with devils, terror of doing anything not in the manuals of good behavior, terror of God's judgment, of what other people would say, of the law punishing any mistake, terror of trying and failing, terror of succeeding and having to live with the envy of other people, terror of loving and being rejected, terror of asking for a rise in salary, of accepting an invitation, of going somewhere new, of not being able to speak a foreign language, of not making the right impression, of growing old, of dying, of being pointed on because of one's defects, of not being pointed out because of one's merits, of not being noticed either for one's defects or one's merits.
  Terror, terror, terror. Life was a reign of terror, in the shadow of the guillotine. (the devil’s words)
• The story of the gallows was a good one, because it clearly shows that mankind is virtuous only because terror exists, but that men are still essentially bad, my true descendants. '

In Justification for the Crime:

• 'The only thing I know well in my religion, is which the sacrifice of one individual saved all humanity.'
• We have committed the sin of pride in believing ourselves to be better than we are - and that is why we are suffering.
• Thanks to this sacrifice, a good soul will go to heaven and find eternal joy, rather than remain suffering here on earth.
• 'Evil needs to manifest itself, for them to understand the value of Good.' Just as the traitor in the Bible, soon after betraying Jesus, understood what he had done, so the people in the village would realize what they had done and be so overwhelmed by remorse that their only refuge would be the Church. And Viscos - after all these years - would once again become a Christian village.

About the People of Viscos:

• People want to change everything and, at the same time, want it all to remain the same. Chantal did not immediately understand why, but that was what was happening to her. Perhaps she was too bound to Viscos, too accustomed to defeat, and any chance of victory was too heavy a burden to bear.
• They were so ignorant, so naive, so resigned to their lot. They refused to believe anything that didn't fit in with what they were used to believing. They all lived in fear of God.
• Very clever. Playing the part of a charitable soul was only for those who were afraid of taking a stand in life. It is always far easier to have faith in your own goodness than to confront others and fight for your rights.
• By Now, he also knew that the whole village is dreaming of committing a crime. He knew that they are too frightened actually to carry out the crime, but there intention was enough to answer his question: human beings are essentially bad.
• When that day came around again, they would accuse God of having placed them in terrible temptation.
• 'You're mistaken, Father. You were in paradise, but you didn't recognize it. It's the same with most people in this world; they seek suffering in the
  most joyous of places because they think they are unworthy of happiness.'

About Chantal and the Devil’s Advocate:

• She had dug up the gold bar but had been incapable of actually running off with it. She had committed the crime in her soul, but had been unable to carry it out in the real world.
• She had met two wolves that day, one who could be scared off with fir e, and another who wasn't scared of anything any more because he had already lost everything he valued and was now moving blindly forward, intent on destroying everything in his path.

About Old Berta (the Victim):

• Water: it has no taste, no smell, no colour and yet it is the most important thing in the world. Just like her at that moment.

About Dreams:

• She had just realized there were two things that prevent us from achieving our dreams: believing them to be impossible or seeing those dreams made possible by some sudden turn of the wheel of fortune, when you least expected it. For at that moment, all our fears suddenly surface: the fear of setting off along a road heading who knows where, the fear of a life full of new challenges, the fear of losing for ever everything that is familiar.
  

About Promises:

• 'In the first place, you shouldn't believe in promises. The world is full of them: promises of riches, of eternal salvation, of infinite love. Some people think they can promise anything, others accept whatever seems to guarantee better days ahead, as, I suspect, is your case. Those who make promises they don't keep end up powerless and frustrated, and exactly the same fate awaits those who believe those promises.'
  

About the Illusion of Security:

• it's stupid to believe we can control the world and to allow ourselves to be lulled into a false sense of security that leaves us totally unprepared for life; because then, when you least expect it, an earthquake throws up a range of mountains, a bolt of lightning kills a tree that was preparing for its summer rebirth, or a hunting accident puts paid to the life of an honest man
  

About Achieving Your Goal:

• 'Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.'
  

About the Kinds of Idiots:

• 'There are two kinds of idiots - those who don't take action because they have received a threat and those who think they are taking action because they have issued a threat.'

Please note that these quotes represent the novel characters’ views and this doesn’t mean that I agree or disagree with all of them.

Look at Me, Should I Better Go Crazy?!

If you look at me, most probably I’ll turn my head away. But if not, look in my eyes.
What do you think?, you think I’m not ok. Yes I’m not. You know why? I can’t tell. You know why? I don’t know. You Know why? because it is not only for one reason. You know why? because I’m afraid to talk. You know why? because I fear being misunderstood. You know why? because being blamed is the last thing I need. You know why? because I need to be treated kindly. You know why? because I don’t want to feel selfish by burdening others with my problem. You know why? because I fear regretting telling you one day. You know why? it is really complicated and I know to you, it may not seem so.
You know what? I’m strong but lately it seems I’m not that strong but I’m not weak. However, I’m board of being strong, independent, reliable, & supportive. May be I need to be weak for sometimes, to cry, shout, and show my anger, to act in a crazy way and show my fears. May be I need to lose my memory for a while. I’m tired. I’m tired of fighting, striving, reforming myself, caring for everyone, crying every now and then and being neglected at some times.
What do you think of crazy people? I’m starting to envy them. They can do whatever they want whenever they want without being blamed. They are simply crazy. They might be crazy, while I believe they enjoy a peace of mind which sane people may not enjoy.
What if I became crazy or insane? No No I don’t want this. Certainly God is already choosing the best for me. Why should I talk to anyone who may misunderstand me or blame me or I regret talking to? I can simply talk to HIM, to God, to Allah. He is the only one I can show my weakness to without fear. He is the only one who can help me without feeling any kind of selfishness. He is the only one I can ask for his help and pray for and be confident he will answer me. He is the only who is not looking for my support, instead I’m the one looking for his. He is the most one when I think of, I realize the many blessings he gave me and still does. When I think of him, I feel I should go on reforming myself and my relations, only since he wants that from me, not for his sake but for mine. God, I love talking to you. God help me overcome my inner weakness. God help me see life problems as minor that deserve no worry and anxiety. God help me be kind, loving, and even more supportive to everyone I love and care for. God you know I really really have no one but you. God I get my strength from you so please give me more strength.