Faithful readers, friends and family:
A message from Paulo Coelho. “If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return.” I had this quote awhile ago and I’m not really sure which Coelho book it’s from. Nonetheless, it reappeared when I started to read Bird by Angela Johnson once more. And the quote goes so well with Roy who gave me the book. No matter what, I know Roy is always there; is always a great friend and would never betray me. Of course there’s the fam (Mom, Dad, Rab, Bear and Phillip), although Phillip has a much more coy way of showing that he is there for you, at least that is what I will tell myself. And there are a few other close friends who my love for, I hope, goes without saying. So you think of a bright star as something beautiful, really far away but always there. But really stars are constantly dying, constantly being replaced, kind of like certain people in our lives. Yet as the quote says, if you come back and its not there, then it was not pure matter. And that is totally okay. Because those stars did shine in our lives if only for a few seconds and their beauty led the way for more beautiful stars to shine.
Before, whenever I would look up at the stars I would think about nothing and everything. I would think that I was free when I’d look at them, that nothing else mattered, just the stars, the wind and me. Because for as long as I can remember, the cold air has always done something to me, made me feel invincible and invisible. I remember lying down in the backseat of the beige Taurus and looking out the half-rolled down window and starring at the stars, the trees and houses to try to figure out where exactly we were in Aurora. Since I hardly ever ride in a car anymore, I don’t try to find my way back home as much as I miss it. When I look up at the stars, I think about how far away I am from my family. I think about my brother and realize that he will soon be looking up at a different sky. And I hope that when he looks up at those stars that he will think of me and the rest of the family and how much we love him.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Words found on this blog reflect my personal thoughts and experiences. They do not reflect the views of the Peace Corps or the United States government.
About Me
- amnightingale
- Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala; 2008-2010; Youth Promoter
You have to take risks, he said. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.
Every day, God gives us the sun--and also one moment in which we have the ability to change everything that makes us unhappy. Every day, we try to pretend that we haven't perceived that moment, that it doesn't exist--that today is the same day as yesterday and will be the same as tomorrow. But if people really pay attention to their everyday lives, they will discover the magic moment. It may arrive in the instant when we are doing something mundane, like putting the front-door key in the lock; it may lie hidden in the quiet that follows the lunch hour or in the thousand and one things that all seem the same to us. But that moment exists--a moment when all the power of the stars becomes a part of us and enables us to perform miracles.
Joy is sometimes a blessing, but is often a conquest. Our magic moments helps us to change and sends us off in search of our dreams. Yes we are going to suffer, we will have difficult times, and we will experience many disappointments---but all of this is transitory; it leaves no permanent mark. And one day we will look back with pride and faith at the journey we have taken.
Pitiful is the person who is afraid of taking risks. Perhaps this person will never be disappointed or disillusioned; perhaps she won't suffer the way people do when they have a dream to follow. But when that person looks back--and at some point everyone looks back--she will hear her heart saying, "what have you done with the miracles that God planted in your days? What have you done with the talents God bestowed on you? You buried yourself in a cave because you were fearful of losing those talents. So this is your heritage: the certainty that you wasted your life."
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept-Coelho
Every day, God gives us the sun--and also one moment in which we have the ability to change everything that makes us unhappy. Every day, we try to pretend that we haven't perceived that moment, that it doesn't exist--that today is the same day as yesterday and will be the same as tomorrow. But if people really pay attention to their everyday lives, they will discover the magic moment. It may arrive in the instant when we are doing something mundane, like putting the front-door key in the lock; it may lie hidden in the quiet that follows the lunch hour or in the thousand and one things that all seem the same to us. But that moment exists--a moment when all the power of the stars becomes a part of us and enables us to perform miracles.
Joy is sometimes a blessing, but is often a conquest. Our magic moments helps us to change and sends us off in search of our dreams. Yes we are going to suffer, we will have difficult times, and we will experience many disappointments---but all of this is transitory; it leaves no permanent mark. And one day we will look back with pride and faith at the journey we have taken.
Pitiful is the person who is afraid of taking risks. Perhaps this person will never be disappointed or disillusioned; perhaps she won't suffer the way people do when they have a dream to follow. But when that person looks back--and at some point everyone looks back--she will hear her heart saying, "what have you done with the miracles that God planted in your days? What have you done with the talents God bestowed on you? You buried yourself in a cave because you were fearful of losing those talents. So this is your heritage: the certainty that you wasted your life."
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept-Coelho
No comments:
Post a Comment