The Witch of Portobello...

The Witch of Portobello... another book by my favorite Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho. This is story of a mysterious woman named Athena, told by the many who know her well, - or hardly at all...

A different kind of approach in writing novel and i say another book of magic. Reading through pages to know more of Athena, it came to me that i was revealing more of myself. Every turned leaf of the book was like making me travel back in time, warping me to the scenes and taking part in the story. It's like reading within my deepest thoughts and giving me answers for some questions in life about sacrifices, faith, hope and love. The story reached out my soul and touched my heart, and empowered me to understand that Love simply is....


Some quotes from the book:

Our time on earth is sacred and we should celebrate every moment.

The Virgin is the one whose search springs from her complete independence and everything she learns is the fruit of her ability to face challenges alone. The Martyr finds her way to self-knowledge through pain,surrender, and suffering. The Saint finds her true reason for living in unconditional love and in her ability to give without asking anything in return. Finally, the Witch justifies her existence by going in search of complete and limitless pleasure.

The physical world and spiritual world are the same thing.

And the best way to know who we are is often to find out how others see us. This doesn't mean that we should do what others expect us to do, but it helps us to understand ourselves better.

Life , however , had other plans - when fate is very generous with us, there is always a well into which all our dreams can tumble.

Lines by Robert Frost:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

"What is a teacher? I'll tell you: it isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order top discover what she already knows."

The brush with which you are making these lines is just an instrument. It has no conciousness, it follows the desires of the person holding it. And in that it is very like we call life. Many people in this world are merely playing a role, unaware that there is an Invisible Hand guiding them. At this moment, in your hands, in the brush tracing each letter, lie all the inten tions of your soul. Try to understand the importance of this.

Learn, but always learn with other people by your side. Don't be alone in the search, because if you take a wrong step, you'll have no one there to help put you right.

Poverty might bring unhappiness, but money won't necessarily bring happiness.

We're surrounded by Universal Desire. It's not happiness, it's desires are never satisfied, because once they're, they cease to be desires.

Faith is not Desire. Faith is will. Desires are things that need to be satisfied, whereas Will is a force.

And is there anything you would withhold? Some day, all that you have shall be given. The tree give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.

And what greater merit shall there be than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving? You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

Our imaginations larger than the world around us; we go beyond our limits.

People learn twenty-five percent from their teacher, twenty-five percent from listening to themselves, twenty-five percent from their friends, and twenty-five percent from time.

Changes only happen when you go totally against everything we're used to doing.

A line of ants. They all think they're wise. They have memory, intelligence, organizational powers, a spirit of sacrifice. They look for food in summer, store it away for the winter, and now they are setting forth again, in this icy spring, to work. If the world was destroyed by an atomic bomb tomorrow, the ants would survive.

Train your eyes: they were made to see more than you think.

Eat in moderation, but take the pleasure in eating: it isn't what enters a person's mouth that's evil, but what leaves it.

Love is not a habit, a commitment, or a debt. It isn't what romantic songs tell us it is - love simply is.

Love and don't ask too many questions. Just love.