“Sometimes, we are so attached to our way of life that we turn down wonderful opportunities simply because we don't know what to do with it.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“Lord, protect our decisions, because making Decision is a way of praying. Give us the courage after our doubts, to be able to choose between one road and another. May our YES always be a YES and our NO always be a NO. Once we have chosen our road, may we never look back nor allow our soul to be eaten away by remorse. And in order for this to be possible.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“It is part of the human nature always to judge others very severely and,when the wind turns against us,always to find an excuse for our own misdeeds,or to blame someone else for our mistakes.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“I understand once again that the greatness of God always reveals itself in the simple things.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“I am always amazed that so many people are concerned with wanting to be what they are not;What is the point of making yourself look ridiculous?
You don't always have to pretend to be strong,there is no need to prove all the time that everything is going well,you shouldn't be concerned about what other people are thinking.
Cry if you need to,it's good to cry out all your tears,because only then you will be able to smile again...”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked:
‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’
His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:
I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’
Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special.
‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’
‘That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’
‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’
‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpner. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.
‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’
‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’
‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“We always have the necessary resources to face the storms that life throws at us, but most of the time,those resources are locked up in the depths of our heart and we waste an enormous amount of time trying to find them.By the time we've found them,we already been defeated by adversity.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“I want to be someone capable of seeing the unseen faces, of seeing those who do not seek fame or glory, who silently fulfil the role life has given them. I want to be able to do this because the most important things, those that shape our existence, are precisely the ones that never show their faces.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“Work is a blessing when it helps us to think about what were doing;but it become a curse when its sole use is to stop us thinking about the meaning of our life.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“When something undesirable grows in my soul, I ask God to give me the courage to mercilessly pluck it out.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“Things do not always happen the way I would have wanted, and it's best that I get used to that.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“I'm not doing anything, and yet I'm also doing the most important thing a man can do: I'm listening to what I needed to hear from myself.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“The future would end up finding out the truth about the past.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“What makes life interesting are the challenges we face.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“Only the following items should be considered to be grave faults: not respecting another's rights; allowing oneself to be paralyzed by fear; feeling guilty; believing that one does not deserve the good or ill that happens in one's life; being a coward. We will love our enemies, but not make alliances with them. They were placed in our path in order to test our sword, and we should, out of respect for them, struggle against them. We will choose our enemies.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“Love transforms and love cures;but,sometimes,love builds deadly traps and can end up destroying a person who had resolved to give him or herself completely.What is this complex feeling which,deep down,is the only reason we continue to live,struggle and improve?”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“Love creates bridges where it would seem they were impossible.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“When we can do nothing else, we can still love, without expecting any reward or change or gratitude.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“This is the present moment. Learn how to gobble it up without fear or guilt.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“I cannot lose the one thing that keeps me alive : hope -”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“A writer always wears glasses and never combs his hair. Half the time he feels angry about everything and the other half depressed. He spends most of his life in bars, arguing with other dishevelled, bespectacled writers. He says very 'deep' things. He always has amazing ideas for the plot of his next novel, and hates the one he has just published.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“When something undesirable grows in my soul, I ask Gd to give me th courage to mercilessly pluck it out.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“I want to be a writer, not an engineer who writes books.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“The happiness of one does not mean the unhappiness of the others.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“The fool who loves giving advice on our garden never tends his own plants”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“everything you do in life will leave a mark”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“When trying to seduce a woman, a writer says: 'I'm a writer', and scribbles a poem on a napkin. It always works.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“so you , too , must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
“I've discovered my vocation. I want to be a writer.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Like the Flowing River
Paulo Coelho
Born place: in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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“Mother, have you noticed that this society we’re in tends to be a little…repressive?”
“What does that mean, Eugenie? What does that mean, that strange new word, ‘repressive,’ that I have never heard before?”
“It means…it’s like when you decide to do something, and you get up out of your chair to do it, and you take a step, and then become aware of frosty glances being directed at you from every side.”
“Frosty glances?”
“Your desires are stifled.”
“What desires are you talking about?”
“Just desires in general. Any desires. It’s a whole…I guess atmosphere is the…word…a tendency on the part of the society…”
“You’d better sew some more pillow cases, Eugenie.”
― Donald Barthelme, quote from Sixty Stories
“14. Muddy Road
Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.
Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unble to cross the intersection.
"Come on, girl," said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carriedher over the mud.
Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he could no longer restrain himself. "We monks don't go near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"
"I left the girl there," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?”
― quote from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings
“I can't say I cared much for you when I first came back. There's that crappy attitude of yours, and you're ugly, but you kind of grow on a guy."
Immensely cheered, Seth snickered. "You're uglier."
"I'm bigger, I'm entitled. So I guess I'll hang around to see if you get any prettier as time goes on."
"I didn't really want you to go," Seth said under his breath after a long moment. It was the closest he could get to speaking his heart.
"I know.”
― Nora Roberts, quote from Sea Swept
“He took her face between his hands, turning it up, and looking down at her for a moment before he kissed her. "I do love you, Jenny," he said gently. "Very much indeed-- you are part of my life. Julia was never that-only a boy's impractical dream.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from A Civil Contract
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven,”
― Anne McCaffrey, quote from All the Weyrs of Pern
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One Summer: America,...BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.
We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.
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