I spent the whole day cleaning again. I have this kind of obsessive compulsive need for order when I start establishing it in my life. When a speck of dust appears in my otherwise pristine environment, I find it necessary to turn over every cushion and chair, which inevitably causes more dust to join the party. Thank god this obsession doesn't last for too long. After order is established, and when I inevitably succumb to living with a few specks of dust, chaos can reign again.
So, lately, I also have this (revived) obsession with Paolo Coelho. I loved him so much many many many years ago, after 'The Alchemist', and couldn't wait to lay my hands on whatever new book he came up with. But he sorta lost me after a bit, but I won't go into detail because I can't allow myself to speak ill of my idol. :)) But that's irrelevant now, and he's back (with a vengeance) on my radar. And till this obsession fades away, which I hope is never because his words have such a calming influence on me, there will be a lot of copied text here from his blog, which I am obviously obsessed with.
Today, I learnt about living, changes and mistakes.
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The sentence belongs to Pablo Picasso: “God is above all an artist.
He invented the giraffe, the elephant, and the ant. In fact, He never
tried to follow a style – He simply went on doing what He felt like
doing”.
Our wanting to walk is what creates our path – yet, when we start our
journey towards our dreams, we feel very afraid, as if we were obliged
to do everything right.
After all, if we all live different lives, who was it who invented the “everything right” standard?”
If God made the giraffe, the elephant and the ant, and if we try to
live in His image and likeness, why should we need to follow a model?
Sometimes the model helps us to avoid repeating stupid mistakes that
others have already committed, but normally it is a prison that obliges
us always to repeat what everybody does.
To be coherent is to need always to wear a necktie that matches our
socks. It is to be obliged to keep the same opinions tomorrow that you
have today. So what about the way the world moves?
As long as nobody is hurt, change your opinion every now and again,
and contradict yourself without feeling ashamed. This is your right; it
does not matter what the others think – because they are going to think
it anyway.
When we decide to act, some excesses will happen. As the old cooking
saying goes: “to make an omelet, first of all you have to break an egg”.
So it is also natural that unexpected conflicts will arise.
It is only natural that there will be injuries during these conflicts. The wounds pass: only the scars remain.
This is a blessing. These scars stay with us for the rest of our
lives, and they help us a lot. If at any moment – due to complacency or
some other reason – the desire to go back to the past is great, just
look at your scars.
Scars will show us the signs of handcuffs, they will remind us of the horrors of prison – and we will keep on moving forward.
So, relax. Let the Universe move all around you and discover the joy
of being a surprise to yourself. “God chose the crazy things of the
world to embarrass the wise”, says Saint Paul.
A Warrior of Light notices that certain moments are repeated; he
often finds himself facing the same problems, and he confronts
situations he has confronted before.
Then he becomes depressed. He begins to feel that he is incapable of
making any progress in life, since the same things he has lived through
in the past are happening all over again.
“I have been through this”, he complains to his heart.
“You really have”, answers his heart. “But you have never gone beyond it”.
The Warrior then begins to realize that repeated experiences have a
reason, which is to teach us that we have not yet learned. He always
finds a different solution for each repeated fight – and he does not see
his faults as mistakes, but rather as steps towards meeting himself.
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Italicized text copied from here
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