Paulo Coelho Brazilian writer and poet. novel writer, short story stories. The parable contains a certain lesson, a small or large law of the world in which we live.
Parables are the art of words to get right into the heart in order to remove grief and sorrow from there. “When you really want something, the whole Universe will help to ensure that your desire comes true.”
(P. Coelho)
“Let parables serve as a comfort for the afflicted, a healing balm for people with broken hearted a guide for those who love guidance."
(A. Farage)
How can I know the best path to take in life? the student asked his teacher.
The teacher asked the student to make a table. When the table was almost completed - all that was required was to hammer nails into the lid - the teacher approached the student. He drove nails with three precise blows. But still, one nail was driven in with difficulty, and the student had to spend a little more time on it. The fourth blow drove it in too deep, and the wood cracked.
Your hand always hit with a hammer only three times,” the teacher said. - When an action becomes routine, it loses its meaning, and this can cause damage.
Every action is your action, and there is only one secret: never let habit control your movements.
(P. Coelho)
Willingness to talk to God
A man seeking wisdom decided to climb the mountain because he was told that God appears there every two years. During his first year there, he ate everything the earth had to offer. Ultimately, the food was exhausted, and he was forced to return to the city.
God is dishonest! he exclaimed. “Didn't he know that I've been waiting a whole year to hear his voice. I am hungry and I must return to the city.
At that moment an angel appeared.
God really wants to talk to you, said the angel. - whole year he fed you. He hoped that after that you would produce your own food. Well, what did you want? If a person is not able to grow fruit where he lives, he is not ready to speak with God.
(P. Coelho)
Two knights
Let's go to the mountain where God lives, - the knight suggested to his friend. - I want to prove that all he knows is how to ask us questions, while he does nothing to lighten our burden.
Okay, I'll go there to demonstrate my faith, said another.
They climbed the mountain in the evening and heard a voice in the darkness: "Load your horses below with stones from the ground."
Saw?! said the first knight. “After such an ascent, he still wants to make us bear a heavy burden. I will not obey!
The teacher said, “God's decisions are mysterious; but they are always in your favor.
(P. Coelho)
Juggler with oranges
The juggler stopped in the middle of the square, took out three oranges and began to juggle them. People gathered in a circle and marveled at the grace and plasticity of his movements.
It's like life: more or less. - said someone near the traveler. - We always have an orange in each hand, and one in the air. But it is the one that is in the air that creates diversity. It can be thrown by a capable and experienced hand, but it flies on its own course. Like a juggler, we throw a dream into the world, but we do not always control it. At such moments, we must know how to put ourselves into the hands of God. And if you ask for this in a timely manner, then the dream will correctly follow its course and, completed, will again fall into your hand.
The teacher and his students were walking through the market square. Here life went on as usual - the sellers vying with each other briskly praised their goods, and the buyers looked closely at him, trying to bring down the price.
Suddenly, the attention of the Teacher was attracted by a young juggler standing on a dais. He took out three oranges and began to toss and catch them. People gathered around, admiring the grace and precision of his movements.
The teacher stopped for a minute, observing the dexterity of the man, and then, turning to the students, said:
To a certain extent, this reminds us of our lives. We each have an orange in each hand, and another in the air. Therein lies the difference. They throw him up and catch him skillfully and deftly, with skill and dexterity, but he has his own way. Just like this juggler, we launch our dream into this world and are not always able to control it.
At such moments, one must be able to entrust her to God and ask her to worthily fulfill what was intended for her and, having been fulfilled, fall into our hands. One of the most effective exercises to accelerate internal growth lies precisely in paying attention to all those things that we do automatically - breathe, blink, or note what is happening around.
In doing so, we seem to give free rein to our brain, and it works without the participation and interference of our desires. Then problems that hitherto seemed insurmountable suddenly solve themselves, and the work that seemed hard labor to us is done almost effortlessly.
someone else's example
The student asked the teacher:
The history of mankind knows many true righteous people, but what is the best way to go in order to achieve the same?
When we embark on the path destined for us, a strong fear seizes us - we feel that we must certainly do everything “right”. But after all, everyone has their own life, one and only, so where did the concept of “how to” come from? The Lord created the giraffe, and the elephant, and the ant - why are we obliged to follow someone else's example?
The example serves only to show how others define their reality. We can admire it, but we can also avoid repeating the mistakes of others. But how to live - let us decide only and exclusively for ourselves, and no one else.
Everything will be fine
One day alone a wise man told a group of people about God and life trials. He ended his story with the words:
Everything will be fine in the end.
What if it doesn't work out well, someone asked him.
And if it’s not good yet, it means that you just haven’t reached the end yet, - the sage smiled.
Causes of falls
An African shaman led his apprentice through the jungle. Although he was very old, he walked quickly, while his young disciple fell many times. The young man got up every time after falling and, cursing the treacherous land, spat on that place and continued to follow his teacher.
After long way they have reached the sacred place. Without stopping, the shaman turned back.
You haven’t taught me anything today,” the student said after another fall.
I taught you something, but you didn't understand it, said the shaman. - I'm trying to teach you how to deal with life's mistakes.
And how should I deal with them?
Just like with these falls,” the shaman replied. “Instead of cursing where you fell, you should try to find out what made you fall in the first place.
Paulo Coelho - Brazilian prose writer and poet, published more than 20 books, including stories and parables.
three oranges
The teacher and his students were walking through the market square. Here life went on as usual - the sellers vying with each other briskly praised their goods, and the buyers looked closely at him, trying to bring down the price.
Suddenly, the attention of the Master was attracted by a young juggler standing on a dais. He took out three oranges and began to toss and catch them. People gathered around, admiring the grace and precision of his movements.
The teacher stopped for a minute, observing the dexterity of the man, and then, turning to the students, said:
To a certain extent, this reminds us of our lives. We each have an orange in each hand and another in the air. Therein lies the difference. They throw him up and catch him skillfully and deftly, with skill and dexterity, but he has his own way.
Just like this juggler, we launch our dream into this world and are not always able to control it. At such moments, we need to be able to entrust her to God and ask her to worthily fulfill what was intended for her and, having been fulfilled, fall into our hands.
One of the most effective exercises for accelerating internal growth is just to pay attention to all those things that we do automatically - breathe, blink, or note what is happening around. In doing so, we seem to give free rein to our brain, and it works without the participation and interference of our desires. Then problems that hitherto seemed insurmountable suddenly solve themselves, and the work that seemed hard labor to us is done almost effortlessly.
someone else's example
The student asked the teacher:
The history of mankind knows many true righteous people, but what is the best way to go in order to achieve the same?
When we embark on the path destined for us, we are seized by a strong fear - we feel that we must certainly do everything “right”. But after all, everyone has their own life, one and only, so where did the concept of “how to” come from?
The Lord created the giraffe, and the elephant, and the ant - why are we obliged to follow someone else's example? The example serves only to show how others define their reality. We can admire it, but we can also avoid repeating the mistakes of others. But how to live - let us decide only and exclusively for ourselves, and no one else.
Everything will be fine
One day a wise man was talking to a group of people about God and life's trials. He ended his story with the words:
- In the end everything will be fine.
And if it still doesn’t work out well, someone asked him.
And if it’s not good yet, it means that you just haven’t reached the end yet, - the sage smiled.
Causes of falls
An African shaman led his apprentice through the jungle. Although he was very old, he walked quickly, while his young disciple fell many times. The young man got up every time after falling and, cursing the treacherous land, spat on that place and continued to follow his teacher.
After a long journey, they reached a sacred place. Without stopping, the shaman turned back.
You haven’t taught me anything today,” the student said after another fall.
I taught you something, but you didn't understand it, said the shaman. - I'm trying to teach you how to deal with life's mistakes.
And how should I deal with them?
Just like with these falls,” the shaman replied. - Instead of cursing where you fell, you should try to find what made you fall in the first place.
1. The story of the Virgin Mary.
One day, the Most Pure Virgin, holding the baby Christ in her arms, decided to descend to earth and visit a certain monastic monastery. The monks filled with pride lined up in a row: each in turn went out to the Mother of God and showed his art in her honor: one recited poetry own composition, another showed a deep knowledge of the Bible, the third listed the names of all the saints. And so the brethren, to the best of their strength and gifts, honored the Virgin and baby Jesus.
And the last was a humble and wretched nun who could not even memorize the texts Holy Scripture. His parents were uneducated people, they performed in the circus, and they only taught their son to juggle balls and other tricks.
When the turn came to him, the monks wanted to stop the ceremony, because the poor juggler could not say anything to the Blessed Virgin, but to disgrace the monastery - completely. But with all his soul he felt an urgent need to convey to the Virgin and the Child some part of himself.
And so, embarrassed by the reproachful glances of the brethren, he took out several oranges from his pocket and began to toss them and catch them, that is, to do the only thing he knew how to juggle.
And only at that moment a smile appeared on the lips of Christ, and he clapped his hands. And only to the poor juggler did the Blessed Virgin give her son, entrusting him to hold him in her arms.
2. The story of Narcissus.
The alchemist picked up a book brought by one of the travelers. The book was uncovered, but he found the name of the author - Oscar Wilde - and, leafing through it, came across the story of Narcissus.
The alchemist knew the myth of a beautiful young man who spent days on end looking at his reflection in the stream, admiring his beauty. In the end, looking, he fell into the water and choked. A flower, named in memory of the deceased, grew on the shore.
But Oscar Wilde told the story differently.
"When Narcissus died, the nymphs of the forest - the dryads - noticed that the fresh water in the stream had become salty from tears.
- What are you crying about? the dryads asked him.
“I mourn Narcissus,” answered the brook.
“No wonder,” said the dryads. “After all, we always ran after him when he passed through the forest, and you are the only one who saw his beauty up close.
- Was he handsome? asked the brook.
Who can judge this better than you? wondered the forest nymphs. - Was it not on your shore, bending over your waters, did he spend his days?
The brook was silent for a long time and finally answered:
- I cry for Narcissus, although I never understood that he is beautiful.
I weep because every time he landed on my shore and bent over my waters, my beauty was reflected in the depths of his eyes.
"What a wonderful story," thought the Alchemist.
3. The Parable of the Corn Trader
For some time they silently looked at the square and at the passers-by. The old man was the first to break the silence.
“So why did you decide to herd the sheep?”
Because I love to roam the world.
The old man pointed to a popcorn vendor who was parked with his red cart in the corner of the square.
- As a child, he also dreamed of wandering. However, later he preferred to trade in corn, to save and save money. Then, when he is old, he will spend a month in Africa. It is not given to him to understand that a person always has everything to fulfill his dream.
"It would be better if he became a shepherd," said Santiago.
- He thought about it. But then I decided that it was better to engage in trade. Merchants have a roof over their heads, and shepherds spend the night in an open field. And parents prefer to take merchants as sons-in-law, rather than shepherds.
Santiago, thinking of the clothier's daughter, felt a pang in his heart. Surely, in the town where she lives, someone is wandering around with a red cart.
“So it turns out that people’s opinions about shepherds and corn merchants turn out to be more important than one’s own path.
4. The story of the secret of happiness.
A certain merchant sent his son to the most important sage for the secret of happiness. For forty days the young man walked through the desert until he saw a magnificent castle on top of a mountain. There lived the Sage, whom he was looking for.
Contrary to expectations, the castle did not at all look like a secluded abode of a righteous man, but was full of people: merchants were scurrying about, offering their goods, people were talking in the corners, a small orchestra played a gentle melody, and in the middle of the hall a table was laid, laden with the most luxurious and exquisite dishes, which could be found in this region. The sage walked around his guests, and the young man had to wait for his turn for two hours.
Finally, the Sage listened to why he had come to him, but said that now he did not have time to explain the secret of happiness. Let the young man wander around the castle and return to this hall in two hours.
"And here's another request I have for you," he said, handing the young man a teaspoon with two drops of oil. "Take this spoon with you and see not to spill the oil."
The young man, without taking his eyes off the spoon, began to go up and down the palace stairs, and two hours later appeared before the Sage.
"Well," he said, "did you like the Persian carpets in the dining room; the garden that the most skillful craftsmen had been planting for ten years; the old folios and parchments in my library?"
The ashamed young man admitted that he had not seen anything, for all his attention was riveted on those drops of oil that the owner had entrusted to him.
"Go back and look at all the wonders in my house," the Sage said then. "You can't trust a person until you know where and how he lives."
The young man took the spoon and again moved through the passages of the castle. This time he was not so constrained and looked at the rarities and curiosities, all the works of art that decorated the rooms. He surveyed the gardens and mountains surrounding the castle, appreciating the beauty of the flowers and the artful arrangement of paintings and statues. Returning to the Sage, he listed in detail everything that he had seen.
"And where are those two drops of oil that I asked to convey without spilling?" asked the Sage.
And then the young man saw that he had spilled them.
“That is the only advice I can give you,” the wisest of the wise said to him. The secret of happiness is to see everything that is wonderful and glorious in the world, and never forget about two drops of oil in a teaspoon.
