10 Quotes by Paulo Coelho That Will Make Your Day

The Brazilian author from Rio de Janeiro, perhaps best known for his work, The Alchemist, certainly has a way with words. There’s a musicality in how his brain works, perhaps because he wasn’t just a writer, but a lyricist. These ten quotes from the author will melt your heart, fuel your soul, and stir the sexy in you. You’ll see what I mean. . .

“Two things prevent us from happiness: living in the past and observing others.”

Lao Tzu said the same thing: “If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present. Might be time to appreciate this moment, yes?

What power lies in that first step! When we are afraid to try, or unsure if something will be worth our while, all we need to do is take the first step. Amazing things really do start to happen when we make the first move. Even if that first step is just to be happier, scientific research has proven that we can change our happiness set-point by re-claiming our joy and taking active steps to replace it.

“Important encounters are planned by the souls, long before the bodies see each other.”

Traditionally, science has dismissed the soul as an object of human belief, or reduced it to a psychological concept that shapes our cognition of the observable natural world. Wiser people among us realize that the soul is not only real, it exists long after our physical bodies have shriveled up and decomposed.

We have soul families, but really the entire world is full of our soul-mates, since we are all connected. Our souls hold the repository of all knowledge, too, so they are probably much wiser than our limited physical brains about who we interact with, too.

Real movers and shakers in the world rarely have time to plead with you to agree with them. They don’t even really care about your opinion. They are too busy fulfilling their passionate life’s purpose, and though others may notice what amazing things they accomplish — this is simply a by-product of their focused intent and action. Stop jabbering on about what you want to change, and change it.

“All women have a perception much more developed than men. So all women somehow, being repressed for so many millennia, they ended up by developing this sixth sense and contemplation and love. And this is something that we have a hard time to accept as part of our society.”

This is not a patronization of gender roles, but a full stop notice that the loss of our divine feminine (in all genders) due to a patriarchal system is extremely damaging. The old systems are crumbling – political, economical, environmental, social, familial etc., to be replaced by the New Earth Paradigm.

Women don’t want to send their babies off to war. They held them in their bodies. Women don’t want to see men forced to contain their emotions such that they become suppressed and convoluted. Our natural state is one of love, and acceptance.

The divine feminine honors sexuality, openness, creativity – all the qualities that have been shunned or co-opted by patriarchal Gods. When we all reconnect to the ancient feminine – including to the Earth, herself, we will regain gifts of intuition, psychic abilities, clairvoyance, and so many other amazing qualities that the world needs desperately right now.

Our nature is to avoid emotional pain – but we can’t truly deny it forever. What we don’t deal with gets stored in the body. The body talks. It is only when we listen that our heartbreak gives way to compassion — for ourselves and others. If you haven’t listened to what your body wants to tell you, then you will feel your supressed emotions as physical pain and eventually disease. Coelho encourages you, instead, to listen.

“Why is love so hard for most of us to accept? Because it implies suffering. You know that. And well, first, love is the most important emotion in life. And second, it is also the one that is wild, that can take us to heaven or hell. I’m not saying that love always takes you to heaven. Your life can become a nightmare. But that said, it is worth taking the risk.”

Artists, painters, musicians, and poets have examined love for millennia. When scientists did, they found it could create the highest high by releasing oxytocin and dopamine into our blood, creating comfort, attachment and even obsession. When we lose love, another set of chemicals can make us feel as if we’ve lost a limb. As Coelho points out though, even with such a great risk-reward scenario, we’re all still at a loss when it comes to love.

“Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that their neighbor is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the same questions.”

Travel. See other cultures. Understand others’ perspectives. We all bleed red, people.

“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine. It is lethal.”

We can never have too much fun in life. Doing the same thing over and over is stultifying. We can become the slave of our habits (even mental ones!) It’s better to take a chance and try something new. If we don’t physically die from routine, we certainly die in our hearts and minds.No explanation needed here. Coelho said it all.

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