Maktub

by Paulo Coelho

  On Christmas Eve, the wanderer and his wife did an evaluation of the year that was about to end. During dinner at the only restaurant in a village in thePyrenees , the wanderer began to complain about something that hadn't gone the way he thought it should have. His wife stared at the Christmas tree decorating the restaurant. The wanderer thought that she was no longer interested in the conversation, and changed the subject: "Aren't the lights on the tree pretty!" he said. "They are," his wife answered. "But if you look closely, among the dozens of bulbs there is one that has burned out. It seems to me that, instead of seeing the past year in terms of the dozens of blessings that illuminated it, you are fixating on the only bulb that illuminated nothing."

  "Look at that humble holy man, walking the road", said one devil to another. "I think I'll go over there and conquer his soul." "He won't listen to you, because he is concerned only with holy things," said his companion. But the devil, in his usual ardent fashion, dressed himself as the Archangel Gabriel, and appeared before the holy man. "I have come to help you," he said. "You must have me confused with someone else," answered the holy man. "I have done nothing in my life to deserve the attention of an angel." And he continued on his way, never knowing what he had avoided.

  A friend of the wanderer went to a play on Broadway, and went out for a drink during the intermission. The lobby was crowded, and people were smoking, talking and drinking. A pianist was playing, but no one paid any attention to his music. The wanderer's friend sipped her drink and studied the musician. He seemed bored -just doing his job and waiting for the intermission to end. After another drink, and feeling a bit high, she approached the piano. "You're a pain in the neck! Why don't you play just for yourself?"

  she exclaimed. The pianist was surprised. And then he began to play the kind of music he liked. In just a few minutes, the entire lobby fell silent. When the song was over, there was enthusiastic applause.

  Saint Francis ofAssisi was a very popular young man when he decided to leave it all behind and do his life's work. Saint Clare was a beautiful young woman when she took her vow of chastity. Saint Raimundo Lull knew the great intellectuals of his time when he went off into the desert. The spiritual quest is, above all, a challenge. Whoever uses it to flee from his problems will not go very far. It does no good for someone who cannot make friends to retire from the world. It accomplishes nothing to take a vow of poverty if you are already unable to earn a living. And it makes no sense to become humble if one is already a coward. It is one thing to have something and give it up. It is another not to have something and to condemn those who have. It is easy for a weak man to go around preaching absolute charity, but what good is it? The master says: "Praise the Lord's work. Conquer yourself as you confront the world."

  It is easy to be difficult. All we have to do is stay away from people, and in that way, avoid suffering. That way, we don't have to risk love, disappointment, frustrated dreams. It is easy to be difficult. We don't have to be concerned about phone calls we should have made, people who ask us for help, charity that should be extended. It is easy to be difficult. We just have to pretend that we live in an ivory tower, and never shed a tear. We just have to spend the rest of our lives playing a role. It is easy to be difficult.

  All we have to do is reject everything good that life offers.

  The patient said to his physician, "Doctor, I am ruled by fear, and fear has taken away all joy." "Here in my office, there is a mouse that nibbles at my books," the doctor said. "If I become desperate over the mouse, he will hide from me, and I'll do nothing else with my life but hunt for him. Instead, I have put all of my best books in a safe place, and I allow him to eat at some of the others. That way, he continues to be only a mouse, and not a monster. Fear a few things, and concentrate all of your fear on them -so you can be courageous in facing the important things."

  The master says: "Often it is easier to love than to be loved. We find it hard to accept the help and support of others. Our attempts to appear independent deprive others of the opportunity to demonstrate their love. Many parents, in their old age, rob their children of the chance to show them the same affection and support they received as children. Many husbands (and wives), when they are overtaken by affliction, feel ashamed at depending upon others. As a result, the waters of love do not spread. You should accept a gesture of love from someone. You have to allow others to help you, to give you the strength to go on. If you accept such love with purity and humility, you will understand that Love is neither giving nor receiving -it is participating."

  Eve was walking through the Garden of Eden, when the serpent approached her. "Eat this apple," he said. Eve, well taught by God, refused. "Eat this apple," the serpent insisted. "Because you have to become more beautiful for your husband." "I don't need it," Eve answered. "He has no one else but me." The serpent laughed: "Of course he does." Since Eve did not believe him, he took her to the top of a hill where there was a well. "She's down there. That's where Adam hid her." Eve looked in and saw a beautiful woman reflected in the water. And then she ate the apple the snake offered.

  Excerpts from a "Letter to my Heart:" "My heart, I will never condemn you or criticize you. Nor will I ever be ashamed of what you say. I know that you are a beloved child of God, and that He protects you within a glorious and loving radiance. I believe in you, my heart. I am on your side, and I will always ask for blessing in my prayers. I will always ask that you find the help and support you need. I believe in you, my heart. I believe that you will share your love with anyone who needs or deserves it. That my path is your path, and that we will walk together to the Holy Spirit. I ask of you: trust in me. Know that I love you and that I am trying to give you all the freedom you need to continue beating joyfully in my breast. I will do everything I can so that you never feel uncomfortable with my presence surrounding you."

  The master says: "When we decide to act, it is natural that unexpected conflict should arise. It is natural that we will be wounded as a result of such conflict. Wounds heal: they stay on as scars, and that is blessing. Such scars stay with us for the rest of our lives, and are of great help to us. If at some point -for whatever reason -our desire to return to the past is strong, we have only to look at our scars. Scars are the marks of handcuffs, and remind us of the horrors of prison -and with that reminder we move forward again."

  In his Epistle to the Corinthians,Saint Paul tells us that sweetness is one of the main characteristics of love. Let us never forget: love is tenderness. A rigid soul does not allow the hand of God to mold it in accordance with His desires. The wanderer was traveling a narrow road in the north ofSpain , when he saw a man stretched out in a bed of flowers. "Aren't you crushing those flowers?" the wanderer asked.

  "No," the man answered. "I'm trying to take a bit their sweetness from them."

  The master says: "Pray every day. Even if your prayers are wordless and ask for nothing, and can hardly be understood. Make a habit of your prayers. If that is difficult at the beginning, decide for yourself: 'I am going to pray every day this week. ' And renew that promise for each of the next seven days. Remember that you are creating not only a more intimate link with the spiritual world; you are also training your will.

  It is through certain practices that we develop the discipline needed for life's combat. It does no good to forget the resolution one day and pray twice the next. Nor to pray seven times the same day, and go through the rest of the week thinking that you have completed your task. Certain things have to occur with the right pace and rhythm."

  An evil man, about to die, meets an angel at the gates to Hell. The angel says to him: "It is enough for you to have done one good thing in your life, and that will help you." "Think hard," the angel said. The man remembers that one time, as he was walking through a forest, he saw a spider in his path and detoured so as not to step on it. The angel smiles and a spider web comes down from the sky, allowing the man to ascend toParadise . Others among the condemned take advantage of the web, and begin to ma
ke the climb. But the man turns on them and begins to push them off, fearing that the web will break.

  At that moment, it breaks, and the man is once again returned to Hell. "What a pity," the man hears the angel say. "Your concern with yourself turned the only good thing you ever did into evil."

  The master says: "A crossroad is a holy place. There, the pilgrim has to make a decision. That is why the gods usually sleep and eat at crossroads. Where roads cross, two great forces are concentrated -the path that will be chosen, and the path to be ignored. Both are transformed into a single path, but only for a short period of time. The pilgrim may rest, sleep a bit, and even consult with the gods that inhabit the crossroad. But no one can remain there forever: once his choice is made, he has to move on, without thinking about the path he has rejected. Otherwise, the crossroad becomes a curse."

  Humanity has committed some of its worst crimes in the name of the truth. Men and women have been burned at the stake. The entire culture of some civilizations has been destroyed. Those who committed the sin of eating meat were kept at a distance. Those who sought a different path were ostracized. One person, in the name of truth, was crucified. But -before He died -He left us a great definition of the Truth.

  It is not what provides us with certitudes. It is not what makes us better than others. It is not what we keep within the prison of our preconceived ideas. The Truth is what makes us free. "Know the Truth, and the truth will make thee free," He said.

  One of the monks at the monastery at Sceta committed a grave error, and the wisest of hermits was summoned by the brothers to judge him. The wise hermit did not want to come, but the group was so insistent that he agreed. Before he left his place, though, he took a bucket and made some holes in its bottom. Then, he filled it with sand, and began his walk to the monastery. The father superior, noticing the bucket, asked what it was for. "I have come to judge another," the hermit said. "My sins are running out behind me, as does the sand in this bucket. But, since I do not look behind me, and cannot see my own sins, I am able to judge another." The monks immediately decided not to proceed with the judgment.

  Maktub

  Written on the wall of a small church in thePyrenees : "Lord, may this candle I have just lit Make light, And illuminate me when I have problems and make decisions. May it make fire, So that You can burn away my egotism, pride and impurity. May it make a flame, So that You can warm my heart and teach me to love. I cannot remain for long in Your church. But in leaving this candle, a bit of myself remains here. Help me to extend my prayer to the activities of this day. Amen."

  A friend of the wanderer decided to spend a few weeks at a monastery inNepal . One afternoon, he entered one of the many temples of the monastery, and saw a smiling monk seated on the altar. "Why are you smiling," he asked. "Because I understand the meaning of bananas," said the monk, opening his bag and taking out a rotten banana. "This is a life that ran its course, and was not made use of -and now it is too late." Then he removed from his bag a banana that was still green. He showed it to the man, and put it back in his bag. "This is a life that has not yet run its course, and awaits the right moment," he said. Finally, he took from his bag a ripe banana, peeled it, and shared it with the man, saying: "This is the present moment. Know how to live it without fear."

  A woman friend had gone out with the exact amount of money she needed to take her son to the movies. The boy was excited, and every minute asked his mother how long it would take to get there.

  When she was stopped at a traffic light, she saw a beggar seated on the sidewalk. "Give all the money you have with you to him," she heard a voice say. The woman argued with the voice. She had promised to take her son to the movies. "Give it all," the voice insisted. "I can give him half, and my son can go in alone while I wait outside," she said. But the voice didn't want to discuss it. "Give it all!" She had no time to explain it all to the boy. She stopped the car and held out all the money she had to the beggar. "God exists, and you have proved it to me," the beggar said. "Today is my birthday. I was sad, and ashamed to be begging. So, I decided not to beg: if God exists, he will give me a present."

  A man is walking through a small village in the middle of a downpour, and sees a house burning. As he approaches it, he sees a man surrounded by flames seated in the living room. "Hey, your house is on fire!", the traveler shouts. "I know that," the man answers. "Well then, why don't you get out?" "Because it's raining," says the man. "My mother always told me you can catch pneumonia going out in the rain." Zao Chi's comment about the fable: "Wise is the man who can leave a situation when he sees that he is forced to do so."

  In certain magic traditions, disciples devote one day a year -or a weekend if it is needed -to enter into contact with the objects in their home. They touch each object and ask aloud: "Do I really need this?"

  They take the books from their shelves: "Will I ever reread this?" They examine each souvenir they have kept: "Do I still consider the moment that this object reminds me of to be important?" They open all of their closets: "How long is it since I wore this? Do I really need it?" The master says: "Objects have their own energy. When they are not used, they turn into standing water in the house -- a good place for rot and for mosquitos. You must be attentive, and allow that energy to flow freely. If you keep what is old, the new has no place in which to manifest itself."

  There is an old Peruvian legend that tells of a city where everyone was happy. Its inhabitants did as they pleased, and got along well with each other. Except for the mayor, who was sad because he had nothing to govern. The jail was empty, the court was never used, and the notary office produced nothing, because a man's word was worth more than the paper it was written on. One day, the mayor called in some workmen from a distant place to build an enclosure at the center of the village's main square. For a week, the sound of hammers and saws could be heard. At the end of the week, the mayor invited everyone in the village to the inauguration. With great solemnity, the fence boards were removed and there could be seen... a gallows. The people asked each other what the gallows was doing there. In fear, they began to use the court to resolve anything that before had been settled by mutual agreement. They went to the notary office to register documents that recorded what before had simply been a man's word. And they began to pay attention to what the mayor said, fearing the law. The legend says that the gallows never was used. But its presence changed everything.

  The master says: "From now on -and for the next few hundred years -the universe is going to boycott all those have preconceived ideas. The energy of the Earth has to be renewed. New ideas need space. The body and the soul need new challenges. The future is knocking on our door, and all ideas -except those that are based upon preconceptions -will have a chance to appear. What is important will remain; what is useless will disappear. But let each person judge only his own concepts. We are not the judges of the dreams of others. In order to have faith in our own path, it is not necessary to prove that another's path is wrong. One who does that does not believe in his own steps."

  Life is like a great bike race, the goal of which is to live one's own Personal Destiny. At the starting line, we are all together, sharing camaraderie and enthusiasm. But, as the race develops, the initial joy gives way to challenges: exhaustion, monotony, doubts as to one's ability. We notice that some friends refuse to accept the challenges -they are still in the race, but only because they cannot stop in the middle of a road. There are many of them. They ride along with the support car, talk among themselves and complete the task. We find ourselves outdistancing them; and then we have to confront solitude, the surprises around unfamiliar curves, problems with the bicycle. We wind up asking ourselves if the effort is worth it. Yes, it is worth it. Don't give up.

  A master and his disciple are riding across the Saudi Arabian desert. The master makes use of every moment of their ride to teach the disciple about faith. "Trust in God," he says. "God never abandons his children." At night, in their camp, the master asks the disciple to
tie the horses to a nearby rock. The disciple goes to the rock, but remembers what the master has taught him: "He must be testing me," he thinks. "I should leave the horses to God." And he leaves the horses unfettered. In the morning, the disciple sees that the horses have disappeared. Revolted, he comes back to his master. "You know nothing about God," he exclaims. "I left the horses in His care, and now the animals are gone." "God wanted to care for the horses," the master answered. "But to do that, he needed your hands to tie them."

  "Perhaps Jesus sent some of his apostles to Hell to save souls," John says. "Even in Hell, all is not lost." The idea surprises the wanderer. John is a fireman inLos Angeles , and today is his day off. "Why do you say that?" the wanderer asks. "Because I've gone through Hell here on earth. I go into buildings that are in flames and see people desperate to escape, and many times I risk my life to save them. I'm only a particle in this immense universe, forced to act like a hero in the many fires I've fought. If I -- a nothing -can do such things, imagine what Jesus could do! I have no doubt that some of His apostles have infiltrated Hell, and are there saving souls."

  The master says: "A great many of the primitive civilizations practiced the custom of burying their dead in a fetal position. 'He is being born again, in another life, and we must place him in the same position he was in when he came into this world,' they said. For those civilizations, death was only another step along the way of the universe. Little by little, the world has lost its calm acceptance of death. But it's not important what we think, or what we do or what we believe in: each of us will die one day. Better to do as the old Yaqui indians did: regard death as an advisor. Always ask: 'Since I'm going to die, what should I be doing now?'"