Last night, I finished reading this book by Paulo Coelho (author of "The Alchemist"). It was a good reading experience, but I must say that I wasn't really affected that much. Perhaps it was because I couldn't agree with him in some parts.
For instance, Coelho seems to say that Mary should be made equal to God. I don't mean to offend anyone, but I couldn't agree with that. I believe that she was an instrument for God's will to be realized, and I respect her for her courage and obedience. And like her, we all have a duty to perform on this earth; we all have our individual burdens to bear; we are all important pieces in God's Ultimate Plan. It just so happens that Mary 's role was to give birth to Christ. But that doesn't make her any more divine than any of us ne? (BTW, this is my faith, my own belief. I really don't mean to offend anyone, sorry.)
Also, Coelho keeps insisting on the "feminine side of God". It was an interesting perspective. But I don't think that we have any right to define God, because we, as mere humans, are limited. We can never put God into words because He is beyond words. He is too profound to be defined. Isn't it that the people of long ago wouldn't even dare say His Name for fear that they might use it wrongly? I just don't think that it is right to use human standards to define God. It is the Potter who shapes the pot, and not the other way around.
And one more thing, it wasn't really said there but I somehow have the impression that the story was implying that God is happy and blesses their premarital union. 0.o I would never agree to that! God is the same in the past, the present and forevermore. And I know He intended this to be a sacred act that should be done within the confines of holy matrimony.
Anyway, about the story -- it was mainly about Pilar's struggle between her strong and secure self and her "true" nature that wishes to be set free and to fully love the man she was meant to be with. Hmm.. however, I thought that Pilar's "true" self was impulsive and maybe a little selfish. Is that how it is supposed to be when one is in love? Somehow it doesn't seem right to me. -__-
All in all, I really didn't feel that good about the book. But it really isn't bad either. There were so many good insights about love and life. And I guess there are really some things in life that you have to experience for yourself in order to find and understand the miracle in it. Hmm... I am actually confusing myself. *laughs* Anyway, here is a nice excerpt from the book. I like this part, and that's why I'm sharing it. ^___^
You have to take risks, he said. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.
Everyday, God gives us the sun - and also one moment in which we have the ability to change everything that makes us unhappy. Everyday, we try to pretend that we haven't perceived that moment, that it doesn't exist - that today is the same as yesterday and will be the same as tomorrow. But if people really pay attention to their everyday lives, they will discover that magic moment. It may arrive in the instant when we are doing something mundane, like putting our front-door key in the lock; it may lie hidden in the quiet that follows the lunch hour or in the thousand and one things that all seem the same to us. But that moment exists - a moment when all the power of the stars becomes a part of us and enables us to perform miracles.
Joy is sometimes a blessing, but it is often a conquest. Our magic moment helps us to change and sends us off in search of our dreams. Yes, we are going to suffer, we will have difficult times, and we will experience many disappointments - but all of this is transitory; it leaves no permanent mark. And one day we will look back with pride and faith at the journey we have taken.
Pitiful is the person who is afraid of taking risks. Perhaps this person will never be disappointed or disillusioned; perhaps she won't suffer the way people do when they have a dream to follow. But when that person looks back - and at some point everyone looks back - she will hear her heart saying , "What have you done with the miracles that God planted in your days? What have you done with the talents God bestowed on you? You buried yourself in a cave because you were fearful of losing those talents. So this is your heritage: the certainty that you wasted your life."
Pitiful are the people who must realize this. Because when they are finally able to believe in miracles, their life's magic moments will have already passed them by.
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