Read one Paulo Coelho and you’ve read them all. I have read three, but it is basically the same thing the chap is trying to say.
Paulo Coelho's "Like a Flowing River": Be a Pencil
But once in a while, I like reading over extracts from his writing, like this one from from “Like a flowing river”:
A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked:
‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’
His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:
‘I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’
Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special. ‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’
‘That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’
‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’
‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpner. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.
‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’
‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’
‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your actions.’
——-
Cliched and very Hallmark , like most Coelho, but there can be no argument against what he says in here in Like a Flowing River. Nice.
I love Paulo Coelho, even if he says the same thing over and over again 😀 and I like your style! 😀
I just noticed this post.. It’s a wonderful read. Not that I ever thought about it, but it does seem to suit my pen-name rather well, doesn’t it? 🙂
Do you mind if I re-post this?
Sure, girl, go ahead!
Nice! I’ve heard that one before in other forms, but it always makes me go “hmm”. Good choice. 🙂