The Pilgrimage

by Paulo Coelho

the adventure of traveling toward the unknown.

“The ship is safest when it’s in port, but that’s not what ships were built for,”

When all is said and done, if we believe in God, we have to believe also that God is just.”

Nature itself journeyed, seeking illumination.

“When you are moving toward an objective,” said Petrus, “it is very important to pay attention to the road. It is the road that teaches us the best way to get there, and the road enriches us as we walk its length.

Walk for twenty minutes at half the speed at which you normally walk. Pay attention to the details, people, and surroundings.

Changing the way you do routine things allows a new person to grow inside of you.

you’re the one who must decide how you handle it.”

Wherever it is that you want to see the face of God, there you will see it. And if you don’t want to see it, that doesn’t matter, so long as you are performing good works.

“We must never stop dreaming. Dreams provide nourishment for the soul,

“You, too, have to learn how to fight the good fight. You have already learned to accept the adventures and challenges that life provides, but you still want to deny anything that is extraordinary.”

we always know which is the best road to follow, but we follow only the road that we have become accustomed to.”

“When you do not know your personal devil, he usually manifests himself in the nearest person.

People don’t like to ask too much of life because they are afraid they will be defeated.

because water is a fluid element, and it does not allow itself to be controlled easily. But water, little by little and in a nonviolent way, is going to build a new

relationship between you and your universe.”

We are always trying to convert people to a belief in our own explanation of the universe.

Every star—and every person—has their own space and their own special characteristics.

There are green stars, yellow stars, blue stars, and white stars, and there are comets, meteors and meteorites, nebulas and rings. What appear from down here to be a huge number of bodies that are similar to each other are really a million different things,

“It’s a good idea always to do something relaxing prior to making an important decision in your life,” he said. “The Zen monks listen to the rocks growing.

Whoever knows and experiences agape learns that nothing else in the world is important—just love.

We lose our enthusiasm because of the small and unavoidable defeats we suffer during the good fight.

Your confidence and your sense of mastery depend a great deal on how you react to threats made by others.”

Why be fearful of saying no to someone or of leaving something undone when the most important thing of all was to enjoy life fully?

wisdom has value only if it helps us to overcome some obstacle.

a disciple such as you can never imitate his guide’s steps. You have your own way of living your life, of dealing with problems, and of winning.

Teaching is only demonstrating that it is possible. Learning is making it possible for yourself.”

Once a problem is solved, its simplicity is amazing.”

Every one of us has the flame of madness burning inside, and it is fed by agape.

“The only way to make the right decision is to know what the wrong decision is,”

I was paying too

much respect to the strength of my enemy, and this was a trap.

I should always confront the world with the same weapons that were used to challenge me.

“Our enemy always represents our weaker side. This may be a fear of physical pain, but it may also be a premature sense of victory or the desire to abandon the fight because we define it as not being worth the effort.

“Our enemy is part of agape, there to test our grip, our will, and our handling of the sword. He was placed in our lives—and we in his

with a purpose. And that purpose has to be met. So to flee from the battle is the worst thing that could happen.

the enemy rarely represents evil. He is an everyday presence, and it is he that keeps our sword from rusting in its scabbard.”

that we have to use the thrust of what we are doing right now to defeat the enemy.

“Everything is contained in sounds—the past, the present, and the future.

You came among us to teach us all that we were capable of becoming, and we did not want to accept this.

“I have walked so many miles to discover things I already knew, things that all of us know but that are so hard to accept.

people always arrive at the right moment at the place where someone awaits them.