Quotes by Paulo Coelho

The people through which the Tradition of the Sun spoke were people just like anyone else, and who, one morning or one evening, looked at the world and felt the presence of something greater. They had unwittingly plunged into an unknown sea, and, for the most part, they did not do so again. Everyone, at least once in each incarnation, possessed the secret of the Universe.

People give flowers as presents because flowers contain the true meaning of love. Anyone tries to possess a flower will have to watch its beauty fading. But if you simply look at a flower on a field, you will keep it forever, because the flower is part of the evening and the sunset and the smell of damp earth and the clouds on the horizon.

Don’t waste your time with explanations: people only hear what they want to hear.

And to those who believe that adventures are i say try routine: it kills you far more quickly.

The adrenaline and stress of an adventure are better than a thousand peaceful days.

She [the Virgin Mary] was normal. She had already had other children. The Bible tells us that Jesus had two brothers. Virginity, as it relates to Jesus, is based on a different thing: Mary initiated a new generation of grace. A new era began. She is the cosmic bride, Earth, which opens to the heavens and allows itself to be fertilized.

Its a book that says the same thing almost all the other books in the world say, continued the old man. It describes peoples inability to choose their own Personal Legends. And it ends up saying that everyone believes the worlds greatest lie. Whats the worlds greatest lie? the boy asked, completely surprised. Its this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of whats happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. Thats the worlds greatest lie.

And when I think about it, I guess it is true that people always arrive at the right moment at the place where someone awaits them

Now she knew where to find me, if it was written that we would meet again, we would. The important thing is to allow fate to intervene in our lives and to decide what is best for everyone.

I can control my destiny, but not my fate. Destiny means there are opportunities to turn right or left, but fate is a one-way street. I believe we all have the choice as to whether we fulfill our destiny, but our fate is sealed.

The act of living ones own destiny includes a series of stages that are far beyond our understanding, whose objective is always to... make us learn the lessons necessary to fulfill our own destiny.

Whats the worlds greatest lie? the boy asked, completely surprised.Its this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of whats happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. Thats the worlds greatest lie.

All this was new to me. Life takes us by surprise and orders us to move towards the unknown - even when we dont want to and we think we dont need to.

In the beginning there was only a small amount of injustice abroad in the world, but everyone who came afterwards added their portion, always thinking it was very small and unimportant, and look where we have ended up today.

Its now what enters mens mouths thats evil. Its what comes out of their mouths that is.

If evil exists its to be found in our fears.

Men who have nothing to lose never give a thought for eternal life.

Evil would never bring Good, however much they wanted to believe that it would. By the time they discovered the truth, it would be too late.

Once the soul has left the body it had to walk across a bridge as narrow as a knife edge, with paradise on the right and, on the left, a series of circles that lead down into the darkness inside the earth. Before crossing the bridge, each person had to place all his virtues in his right hand and all his sins in his left, and the imbalance between the two meant that the person always fell towards the side to which his actions on Earth had inclined him.

The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.