Paolho Coehlo - The Witch of Portobello

Reading Coehlo's books is a pleasure. He'll show me, like none other, a protatagonist that thrives within constraints while actively on their path and living in communion with the universe. Their teachers, individuals who rekindle traditions of knowing that lead to closeness to source and divine union -- ever-present, ever-graceful.

Here are some of my important remembrances from The Witch of Portobello.

THE PATH.
It's often been commented on and talked about and prayed for and worked towards. The Path. The Destination. The Journey. How ONE does not preclude the other or vice versa or whatever. 

• "Let go of the idea that the path will lead you to your goal. The truth is that with each step we take, we arrive...Every path and every destination are unique to the individual." (131) 

THE BREATH.
Discard and disregard superfluousness.
Discover and delight in simplicity. In it there is much beauty.
Concentrate.

• "Breathe deeply. Hold the air in your lungs as long as possible, and then breathe out. Repeat this five times. This exercise should have calmed your soul (132)

THE TEACHER.
My tea this morning came with a quote: "To learn, read. To know, write. To master, teach."

• "True teacher gives the disciple courage to throw his or her world off balance, even though the disciple is afraid of things already encountered and more afraid still of what might be around the next corner." (173)

THE ELEGANCE.
Coco Chanel said "Elegance is refusal." Athena's calligraphy teacher, the Bedoin Nabil Alaihi, says:

• "Elegance isn't a superficial thing, its' the way mankind has found to honor life and work." (79)

THE GROWTH.
Athena's teacher, Edda, says wisely:

• "Life is like building a bonfire with kindling...In order to understand the powers we carry within us and the secrets that have already been revealed, it was first necessary to allow the surface - expectations, fears, appearances - to be burned away."  

THE WEAKNESS.
This needs no explanation, only work.

• "In order for us to liberate the energy of our own strength, our weakness must first have a chance to reveal itself." -235