The Zahir

my favorite excerpts from Paulo Coelho's The Zahir....

"we humans have two great problems: the first is knowing when to begin; the second is knowing when to stop."

"You enjoy my company but hate being by yourself. You're always looking for adventure in order to forget more important things. You always want to feel the adrenaline flowing in your veins and you forget that the only thing that should be flowing through them is ..blood."

"when 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. perhaps, there's something wrong with me, i don't know perhaps my marriage was a dream, i couldn't understand it while it lasted. all i know is that even though i can live without her, i would still like to see her again, to say what i never said when we were together; i love you more that i love myself. if i could say that then i could go on living, at peace with myself, because that love has redeemed me."

"Love is an untamed force. When we try to control it, it destroys us. When we try to imprison it, it enslaves us. When we try to understand it, it leaves us feeling lost and confused."

"the distance between two railway tracks are 143.5 centimeters or 4 feet 8 1/2 inches. It is the international and worldwide measurement for all railway tracks...and It has everything to do with marriage and with the other stories we have heard..At some point in history, someone turned up and said: When two people get married, they must stay frozen like that for the rest of their lives. You will move along side by side like two tracks, keeping always the same distance apart. Even if sometimes one of you needs to be a little farther away or a little closer, that is against the rules. The rules say: Be sensible, think of the future, think of your children. You can't change, you must be like two railway tracks that remain the same distance apart all the way from their point of departure to their destination. The rules don't allow for love to change or to grow at the start and diminish half way through -- its too dangerous. and os after the enthusiasm of the first few years, they maintain the same distance, the same solidity, the same functional nature..."

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there is much to be said about the book, but i must say it is really a very deep novel. It talks about love in all kinds, especially the love between marriage and how men or women struggle to their lives in reality. it talks about the inner peace and the true love that most people have forgotten to understand. the fact that it is not about sexuality or any stupid taboos, that real love is about your own purpose to your own surroundings. Inner peace or happiness cannot be found in the spa or wherever sanctuary you might try to meditate, it is about following your passions and your dreams, sometimes giving up the need for money and being humble. The love for people who do not deserve to be loved, i think love is mostly invaluable when we learn to share it to others and give them hope to live. It is selfish to limit love only to ourselves and only to people, whom we think we feel it for, but actually it is not love..it is the addicting process of possesing other people.

I've watched a chinese movie and i remember a line that has been said "seeds are like humans, they must be planted with distances from each other, because it is the only way for them to grow well, and like humans, the only way to live in harmony and to respect each other". I believe that, people live their lives mostly when they function well by giving respect and proper distance for each other, for we cannot posses people, only their bodies but never their hearts and minds.