Paulo Coelho will not be an unknown writer for many of you. He writes his books with a passion that seems to leave no one unmoved. But Paulo Coelho is not just a writer. He wants to convey a message. In every story, in every book, there is a moral hidden that can teach us how life finally works. More importantly, Paulo Coelho gives us tools on how we can take control and shape our own lives. Readers of Paulo Coelho’s books recognize the author as a wise man, although he refuses to personally appropriate this appellation. This Brazilian writer prefers to call himself a Warrior of Light and I can follow him in this with great enthusiasm.
In times when people are becoming more and more aware of reality and the mutual connections with their own actions, Paulo Coelho plays a similar card. His books can be of great value to each of us if we want to walk the path to a better world in which we all live more consciously, hand in hand with our fellow man. He describes in his books how we can evolve into such a world using stories and metaphors. Anyone who can grasp the underlying message will receive a number of enlightenments about the how, what and why of existence. How we as individuals can make a difference by living up to our own legend and, above all, by being happy.
In the next article I will give a brief summary of the messages that Paulo Coelho has proclaimed in some of his books. As he indicated in an interview, he summarizes the moral of his books as follows: Live your personal legend, read the omens, awaken your feminine side, and dare to be different. (1) Because nothing is impossible, says Coelho. On the contrary, only your belief in the impossible makes it impossible to achieve your dreams. This brings us back to the power of the human mind and the law of attraction. In his book The Alchemist, Coelho translates this as “when you wish for something, the entire universe conspires to make your wish come true.” In this book he describes the story of a shepherd Santiago who was forced to become a priest by his father. However, the boy did not like this idea and preferred to become a shepherd. Living up to your own legend is not determined by the talents you have, but by the choices you make. And the right choices are always made by the heart. Just like the boy who chooses to become a shepherd, it is up to us to shape our lives through our own choices. Throughout the story, the boy encounters the difficulties of understanding the language of his own heart, prompting him to see the signs hidden in life. Being blind to these signs is like being blind to your life’s destiny. Yet man cannot control everything himself, and there is the inevitable lesson of the inevitable. There are moments in everyone’s life when everything goes well and you are genuinely satisfied, but something can happen that turns everything upside down.
Coelho: “There are moments in our lives when the world seems to swear against us. The confrontation with the inevitable provokes diverse reactions. Some lose their senses, others become stronger, but the wise learn from it.” (2) In the story of The Fifth Mountain we meet the prophet Elijah, who encounters the inevitable. The prophet Elijah, who travels to a village to get rid of his destiny of being a prophet, is inevitably confronted with this aspect again. Yet painful events do not necessarily have to be accompanied by suffering. People still have the hope and the perseverance to get back at it. Elijah proves this in the book by completely rebuilding a destroyed city, by having the people clean up the streets and rebuild their houses. But there is more to it, says Coelho. The inevitable can show us that even though all is well in our lives, we may not be living up to our own legend, that we are destined to accomplish other things, things that will truly make our hearts happy. And that is precisely why the inevitable would overtake us. Through faith in the divine, Elijah was able to raise the city from its ashes and set out again to preach his message to the people without fear and without failure.
Discipline and self-awareness go a long way in defending against the inevitable. This life lesson is described in The Pilgrim’s Progress to Santiago, where a young magician is forced to set out if he wants to earn the sword that can protect him from evil. This book points out the importance of self-discovery and self-actualization. Throughout his journey, the magician is confronted with himself and therefore also with his own salvation and failure. Because if we want something, we also have to prove that we deserve it.
In De Zahir you can read the quest of a man who searches for his disappeared wife. Coelho paints a picture of love as it should really be. With much gratitude and respect for everyone ‘s individuality. Before a man can find his wife, he must realize that respect and acceptance are needed to love each other. Only then can one achieve intense love without limitations and frustrations. But there is another wisdom hidden in the book that builds on achieving your wishes. The fact is that as humans we cannot achieve everything on our own. From time to time we have to rely on the help of friends. And there you hear it, friends should be cherished and especially grateful for their presence. Coelho therefore speaks about the Bank of Reciprocal Services. Doing friends is for you, then it is appropriate that you also help them out if necessary. As the story evolves you learn that you can transcend this aspect of give and take as a human being. Because for everything you give without conditions, you automatically get back the multiple. Give the best of yourself every day without thinking about whether you can gain anything, act from goodness and love and happiness will surround you as you realize your legend.
As humans we are hopelessly searching for our own happiness. Everyone has their own idea of how to be happy. According to Paulo Coelho there is only one way and that is inward, to the heart. Self-reflection and discovery can enable a person to fulfill his desires. In his book The Warriors of the Light, Coelho writes 133 quotes about how and what exactly a Warrior of the Light is. A Warrior of Light is someone who is able to understand the miracle of life. (3) It is important not to play a role that others have chosen for you. It’s about seeking out your own adventures and making your own choices with your heart, even if it seems crazy and rash to others. Doubt and sadness may overwhelm you. But precisely because you wander, ask yourself questions, because you search for a meaning, you are a Warrior of the Light, according to Coelho.
From now on, for many centuries to come, the universe will help Warriors of the Light and thwart people who harbor prejudices. The energy of the Earth needs to be renewed. Modern ideas need space. Body and soul need new challenges. The future has become the present, and all dreams – except those based on prejudices – will have the opportunity to manifest. What is important will remain and what is meaningless will disappear. It is not the job of a Warrior to condemn the dreams of his neighbor, he does not waste time criticizing the ideas of others. To gain confidence in his own path, he does not need to demonstrate that someone else is following the wrong one. (3)
More and more people are taking a different approach to their lives. They become aware that things can be done differently and better. It is indeed more than time that we stop paying for others, but start to look at how far we ourselves have come in our evolution. Even though many things happen in our world that upset us, focus on what you can change, and that is yourself! Become a Warrior of Light like Paulo Coelho and help create a better world.