Hmm..interesting...why would anyone make such a pact? If you don‘t want to win, why start? If you want to listen to the music, why do not dance? If you want to see the ocean, why do not swim? If you have one step to the top of the mountain, why do not reach the summit? "The rule of victory is to win."
love Agnieszka
Annie
· 1 year ago
unfotunately that is the reason why 7 years ago i put myself living in hell.. during these years i felt my soul died million times..all these years chances were appearing, cause now i realise God never neglects us, but i always made terrible choices - simply i had grown into not loving myself..i was severy beaten at home, since i remember myself and during adolescence, constant fights about how i am supposed to be in this society according to my 'parents', my grandmother's death, who i considered her to be my mom, and the only person i had received love, a love disappointment at school, all these led to an empty feeling inside, and resentment for this world and for myself..all i wanted was to hurt myself, and i made the pact to never think of me as worthy and beautiful, and i would not love myself for that who i am..then i gave up all my dreams, of music, and i didnt touch my piano for all these years..and i kept constantly making terrible choices, but now i was the one who was killing myself for a change... i m not so sure if i have broken this pact, cause the wounds are deep, an sometimes i feel my scars bleeding..yeti hope someday i ll forgive myself for denying this gift of life..everyday passing by i feel stronger..though, as you may have read this previous week, i was pretty down..i try ..it is hard for me not to be hard on myself...but i learnt to love myself by loving others..so sometimes i see myself as a wounded little girl needing affection and love, and try to give her some love... everyday passing day i feel stronger though i know i have a long long way yet.. but yes i realised that victory is possible, and it is everywhere possible.. all you have to do is believe ... i believe in miracles..
Sorry for this big post Love to all of you
Monica A
· 1 year ago
Re: The Valkaries
Was there any suggestion that this was a "rewrite" of Genesis' Flood story - i.e. God's anger / disappointment with his creatures, His revenge, and then His regret at the carnage caused,, concluding with His promise/covenant never to do such a thing again??
I should appreciate any comment you might make.
Sincerely
Monica
Agnieszka
· 1 year ago
Dear sweet Annie, remember, those around us sometimes doesn't know how to love. Maybe they weren't love by their parents, maybe they are lost in their lives, maybe they are afraid. But there's no reason for punishing yourself, for making your life miserable. God doesn't want anybody to suffer. I've been through so many terrible moments in my childhood, but...although I cried a lot, was so alone, I..never lost hope, I never lost faith, and I never..stopped believing that there will be a moment in my life that the sun will shine. Please never, ever treat yourself as not worthy, not lovable, because you are so much more than that, YOU are a sweet, beautiful angel. I mean it and I love you. Sun will always shine for you as long as you live. When you believe....miracle happens.
lots and lots of love Agnieszka
Elleni
· 1 year ago
Dear Annie You story touched me deeply. To some extent I have experienced a semilar experience like you. But Keep that hope, love and faith going beautiful God is near, and he is hearing you. Unfortunately this type of wounds take time to heal, just like they took long time to take over your beautiful soul to hate yourself. But i promise you beautiful cast all your cares unto Him the blessed Saviour, and he will take care of you. Say this prayer every time you wake up and before you sleep "Lord grant me your Holy Sprit to love myself today and always and let Thy Holy Sprit shine on me through You" Surrender all to The Blessed Saviour and surely He will take care of you. Love you beautiful God bless Elley
Anlao
· 1 year ago
Yes, with myself. I always thought I should never let a man walk over me, that equality is an obvious thing, and before my last love trial I promised myself I will never lose in front of a man. My pride didn’t lose, but I ended up losing him and myself as a result. My new contract with myself is that should I get another chance at love, I will not win. Even if I still end up losing him, at least I will not doubt my actions towards love.
Classical “if I win, I lose, and if I lose…maybe, just maybe we win” situation.
Paul from Austria
· 1 year ago
Once earned, LOVE is about sharing, keeping, not winning.
Alexandra
· 1 year ago
I think the meaning is: the sure victory leads us not to pleasure.Someone who is searching for challenges can not find provocation in a sure victory,like in a difficult fight.All depends on the person.Me ,I find much interesting if I get to the thing I desire in an honest and just way,and nowadays that can be very hard,and provoking.Anyway,i succed many times to be first,so,there is a God in the world.
Paul from Austria
· 1 year ago
Dearest Annie, please don't be hard on yourself, for there are enough "naive souls" (those who are not as spiritually deep as yourself) out there who will do that for you.
You have had the misfortune to have been very badly treated, and your scars are obviously very deep, but please believe (and I am talking from experience, otherwise I wouldn't dare to make comment), that it is possible to gain strength from negative experiences, and this new "won" strength, can make you "unbeatable"!
I don't believe that miracles just happen...they are surely earned? We must believe, be patient and keep our hearts and minds open. You have taken the move to open your heart via this blog (thank you dear Poulo), I sincerely wish, from the bottom of my heart, that this will help you to achieve your dreams and goals.
Never give up, Love Paul xxx
vishesh
· 1 year ago
yes i do make..especially when i feel that i am invincible or fat headed...that way i can come back to earth...
Agnieszka
· 1 year ago
Yes.. Paul, then who makes a pact when there's love?
love Agnieszka
Agnieszka
· 1 year ago
and Paul..love is not also about earning.. love...is
love Agnieszka
Paul from Austria
· 1 year ago
Agnieszka, I question the need to enter into a pact? Of course in our world it is traditional to seal "the love pact" through marriage, but this is largely due to religious belief. I love many, (almost everyone ;-) but I do not have a pact with them all,.. or am I missing the point here? If I am, please help me. Love, Paul
Annie
· 1 year ago
Dear remarkable friends and warriors... opening my heart here was simply a cry in the universe..and i thought that by sharing this would make the pain less..and the healing process faster.. because this place seems to me so illuminated by you, by your hearts, by your thoughts, andand is really very helpful..and i ll just say that i receive here more love than i had ever ever taken .. Agnieszka, your wings protect me in another plane but i do feel them even here.. Elleni, your words felt like a light breeze in the morning light..smoothing and caressing..i ll say this prayer every time i begin and end my day, and ll carry you always in my heart..forever..thank you.., Paul..i am always so grateful for your support,for your inspiring attitude.. you are all one of a kind..
definetely all you here are a DREAM-team.. Love Annie
Agnieszka
· 1 year ago
Dear Annie,
"If neither your joys nor your sorrows will not become big, the world will become small" Khalil Gibran
love Agnieszka
Agnieszka
· 1 year ago
You’re right Paul...about the pact, and..I think I misunderstood you, when you related love to the question Paulo asked. love Agnieszka
Annie
· 1 year ago
i dont seem to understand your last comment, Paul..about having a pact with people?? i believe what Agnieszka was saying was that when you are surrounded by love and you are aware of how beautiful can life be, the so called 'awareness of life', that Paulo says in 'Veronica decided to die' then you dont make this pact..and you simply dont decide to 'die'..
Paul from Austria
· 1 year ago
Thank you ladies, I guess I should brush up on my English, and I should refer to the dictionary about the word pact. Sorry for any confusion I may have started. I thank both of you for clarifying this for me. LoL, Paul xxx
Paul from Austria
· 1 year ago
By the way, I'll be walking a part of the Camino tomorrow from the Monastery Goethweig to the mMnastery Melk in Austria. It a 50 km part of the Austrian Jacobsweg, and I'll be thinking of you all during my mini pilgrimage. Thank you Paulo for opening this small segment of the Camino. I shall be thinking of you throughout. Now I'm going to sleep to gather strength for my journey tomorrow. Love to you all, Paul xxx
PS: Annie, I'll walk this especially for you OK, xxx
Derek
· 1 year ago
I find this to be a very thought provoking question, there are so many ways to look at this, so many situations to use this on.
Right now my mind is focused on the end goal of what you are doing. Is the goal simply to win? Or are you more concerned with how you win, what you win, and why you are trying to win.
I think sometimes in life we are presented with easy victories, ones that seem to take little effort but at the same time serve no real purpose in our lives. Therefore, we won those only because we could, not because we really wanted to.
I think the search, the journey has to be about more than just winning. It has to be about how you go about your life, not the end result. It has to be about why you are doing something, not just what you are doing.
Often times people loose site of the how and the why. The are so concerned with just the end goals in life that they are willing to do anything to acheive them. This is winning simply to win.
Winning is not always the right thing to do, especially if ultimatly it undermines your goals.
Chris Cade
· 1 year ago
I think that the quote speaks to the true spirit of successful entrepreneurship. When two partners (or competitors) are in their best form, they enrich everybody's lives... having a winner would only serve to degrade the overall quality.
Stacey
· 1 year ago
Annie, its seems I may be going through a similar thing that you have described in your comment. All I can is put myself down, time are tough when you don't believe in yourself. but you are right, hope that it will pass is what carries me through and believing that maybe we are already on some sort of path?! I always hear that it is the people in life who have it hard that often know how to appreciate the little things in life. I have always been one of the lucky ones with few problems, then all of sudden i was a little bit older with of this crap on my plate, no one to turn to and a basically a big mess. its easy to blame yourself i suppose, and i often do, i do think we make our own fate, but, you are right, no one can do it alone, even if it is in the form of someone elses words over a computer screen...... :-)
Annie
· 1 year ago
Dear Paul, there are no words to describe what i feel this moment..words seem so small, and so undefining of how i do feel.. I wish you absorb every single minute of your pilgrimage, and may it be a path to a better magnificent YOU.. Do tell how it went!!! i will definitely look forward to..i ll be thinking of you, sending you all my strength.. God bless you..
Love to all of you Annie
Agnieszka
· 1 year ago
Dear Paul, I wish you a beautiful journey, so every step would be a moment of joy, moment of your life. love Agnieszka P.S. Don't feel bad about your english, we all make mistakes, and are confused many, many times. Thank you for being here.
raj
· 1 year ago
Dearest warriors,
Paul, Agnieszka, Elleni and especilly Annie. All of you are the real and exist warriors at present.I salute you all. May your journey be bless.
sincerely
Annie
· 1 year ago
Dear sweet Stacey, i send you my courage left to overcome whatever troubles you.. i feel so shattered when others do what i have put myself into..its like striking a chord.. and the thing is when you lose yourself there is really nothing left..no place to grab to..no place you can call home..and every night i remembered myself praying for rain to wash away all my past and wake up in another world.. what you say about the meaning of life..it is true that sometimes we cant see what is the meaning of water if we dont know how fire is...but no longer should you wait..your life doesnt wait..it is here for you..and if you dont believe in yourself, start little by little, by half an hour a day, and then byan hour a day, to do things that build your confidence and your belief in you..Mostly try to do something that you like..To everything we like we try to be good...we are all on a way, that is for sure...but sometimes we have fallen astray and take a wrong path..i pray every night my angel guide me in this path to reach the bridge to paradise..i know this will be a long, hard and tough road..but knowing that i am on the right path, on the one that i and only i chose for myself, and not others, and being aware of my angel beside me,that i pushed him away, makes it easier.. and maybe sometimes when you share your trouble, this becomes less stronger..and so we can can diminutate it.. and vanishes little by little..On the other hand, if we spread our joy to the others, this 'happiness' overpowers all and it s expanded, so it is augmented!
\sending all my love to you
Agnieszka
· 1 year ago
Dear Raj, Thank you, it's good to be in the company of such a warrior as yourself. God bless you too. love Agnieszka
Annie
· 1 year ago
I salute you too, dear Raj God bless you
Karen
· 1 year ago
What I've learned is that when someone's not working with a full deck, stay away!!!!! Move if you have to, they only bring you down. They are more messed up than you coud have EVER imagined!
Alexandra
· 1 year ago
Thank you,Derek.seems we are thinking almost in the same way.Take care,love
Hildegarde
· 1 year ago
What means winning or not with a pact? What is victory in the eye of love?
When you want to win for victory you already loose by your fear of losing. We all make pacts when love isn't heared. Of course I lost myself several times to a pact that I made. Not winning or loosing is important to me but breaking pacts which keeps me away from myself and love. Dear Karen thank you for your lesson there is one thing that I want to share with you how do you measure a full deck?
Love All Ways Hildegarde
Karen
· 1 year ago
Having a conscience, distinguishes whether actions are right or wrong. Also by having honor.
Karen
· 1 year ago
Anlao,
Are you sure you liked him. I saw the guy I thought I liked last year, I'm already laughing. He's marrying a 19 year old, and he's not educated, gotten fat,...
"What was I thinking???" I didn't even know him, I do now! He's "that guy." Come to find out he was hitting on my best friend two weeks before he even proposed. My point is, you have to know what you want to win it. He's such a coward he even had his friend mess with me. Thank God, he prefers teenagers to adults!:)
Agnieszka
· 1 year ago
Dear Stacey, I've read this somewhere, but it seems so wise, hope it might help a little:
"remember, this too will pass, whatever it is..."
love Agnieszka
A.V.C.
· 1 year ago
Ah, this comes close to true Victory; such a pact should definitely be made at some point or another.
sign readers are
· 1 year ago
- like boots - made for walking.
PS The message is in the Universal Language.
Hildegarde
· 1 year ago
Thank you Karen. Love All Ways Hildegarde
Liara Covert
· 1 year ago
We all made this agreement with the Creator before we were born. One view is that "victory" symbolically means living out our karma. To learn all the necessary lessons we have to learn would bring us back to the Creator in another form. As we redefine "winning" all the time, the rules of this game of human life are changing by choice.
Ryan Graves
· 1 year ago
This pact really bothers me! I can only think of one situation in my life that I had the opportunity to make it and I passed it by. My sister was competing against me and my other sister. She was down because she couldn't ever win. I decided not to let her when because if someone let me when something, it really wasn't a win, and it would probably feel worse than a loss.
Madeleine Hay
· 1 year ago
Because living lies in the journey, not the destination. Love to all x
Paul from Austria
· 1 year ago
Dear Annie, I do hope you're feeling "lighter" today? The Austrian section of the Jacobsweg is 50 kilometres long and has a total of 1190 metres in vertical climb. It is categorized as a 2 day walk, and I walked it in 1 day. The day began after a very sleepless night and prior to the start, I was so confused and somehow afraid. Perhaps because I knew I would be getting much closer to my soul? (There you find out things you don't necessarily want to;) I was of course absolutely exhausted upon arrival at Melk Monastery, but unfortunately it was closed (very late) and I was disappointed not to be able to enter the Monastery to say my thanks. I cried out of frustration and tiredness, but non-the-less, I was so grateful to have been able to carry myself, despite the pain of the effort, to the finish. The pain I felt was your pain, dear Annie, and today it has gone, and I truly hope that with it, yours has also gone, or at least drastically diminished. I will be so happy if it helped you. LoL, Paul xxx
maria
· 1 year ago
Pacts, sometimes are made in an unconscious manner. Its always important to honor all levels of consciousness, due to this fact is wise to start the day saying: “From now on… all pacts that can delay my process or are negative are extinguished. I am renewed and always changing to a new and more positive aspect of myself"
Love and Victory ALWAYS in easy ways and in difficult ways...
maria
· 1 year ago
Paulo:
How are you dear?
...
Tanja
· 1 year ago
It's not good to be too confident. We can never be 100% sure in winning any batle. Never understimate oponent or a situation. I think that we can learn something even if winning is "guaranteed". But also we should always try to have higher goals.
Love Tanja:)
Annie
· 1 year ago
You know something dear Paul..? The most incredible thing happened...all these days, i was waking up with a feeling like carrying too many bags in my back, full of stones..that heavy..or like big bus had come through me and i was carrying it....!! today, i woke up and i didnt feel such a thing..and i cried..so many tears through my face..and now i read your post..and yes, this pain was my pain.. you can t imagine how you have helped me..and all of you dear friends in this blog..all of this an act of love..a leaf from the Big Tree of Love..so beautiful, like all of you.. i really can never thank you enough..today it s a whole new day .. a whole new world.. i will always have you deep inside my heart, dear Paul! i will never ever forget this.. thank you so much..
Walaa Hamdan
· 1 year ago
Each and every person who has ever lived has made such a pact one time or another..thinking its enough trying something, and not just striving for victory in it, what ever way that might be.. We do such pacts bcoz we dont want to feel bad bcoz we never tried something..we want to be able to say: "i tried..i honestly did, but it didn't work out" so we do pacts to avoid winning, even though that means losing but for the sake of feeling it wasn't in our hands and we did all we could...
I could go on and on about this and other things, but since its 2:12 am here, I won't
Good night all :)
Paul from Austria
· 1 year ago
Firstly, I would like to thank our dear Paulo Coelho for his kind understanding, for the fact that we sometimes digress somewhat from his direct themes or questions. I'm sure though, that he will not mind when he realizes that his Blog is cultivating an abundance of love and positive solutions via our interaction.
Dearest Annie, I can't tell you how happy this makes me feel, knowing that the "Excercise" worked in your favour, and that your "pain" has been relinquished.
You know why this worked don't you dear Annie? It worked because we and all our dear "PauloCoelhoBlog" friends, believed that it would. We all walked together, as we do mostly every day in this Blog.
This has in turn strengthened my belief in myself, and has convinced me that it is my destiny to use my power to help others.
Thank you Paulo, Annie, Agnieszka, and all of you here in this Blog, for walking with me.
Lots of Love Paul xxx
aditya
· 1 year ago
strange that I too may have made such a pact, but then how to recognise for sure and how to break the pact !
love aditya
Agnieszka
· 1 year ago
You're welcome Paul, I am so happy for you, and..that you thought of me.
and..yes...because of Paulo...we're here, and we're becoming a better people...thank You Paulo.
love Agnieszka
Krokodil Ngwenya
· 1 year ago
The ability not only to make that pact,but especially to keep it at all cost is the first step towards finding enlightenment in the times we live in.
We need to stop being defined by the ills of this post-postmodern age in order for us to be able to develop the skills we require to deal with them. We feed too much on the ills of our world.
sue
· 1 year ago
I have often made pacts with myself to stick to my principles even when it becomes clear that victory could easily be mine by forsaking them. In the short term I always seem to be losing out but the rewards are great. Love and compassion are far greater victories than those our egos think are important.
Love to all Sue
Annie
· 1 year ago
We are all walking together, that s a fact..and i love all of you -you are the great rivers that i encounter in my path- that make me more strong.. Thank you Mr Paulo , cause like the water that flows through the mountains and goes on its way, despite all the rocks it encounters - problems, mistakes, circumstances, faults- you 'pushed' me to find myself and be that water... Love you all Annie
Lya
· 1 year ago
I have this contract running right now. I have something to do and it is very important for my future. It is something i have been working for fro 3 years and this morning i have messed my life up by not giving this thing back. First it is because it is not finished and second because when i do it i... am bloked, start crying. why am i doing this to myself?
Derek
· 1 year ago
Paul, I would actually hope that the point of this site is to encourage us to digress at times. I love coming here and seeing all the different answers and thoughts regarding the same question.
I do not think it is that anyone here is right or wrong, it is that these questions are very though provoking and often we all look at them a little different. We bring our own backgrounds and life expirences to our responses. Even our moods that given day influence how we look at these questions.
That of course leads to more personal discussions regarding what we are all going through in our lives. It is an amazing connection that we form here and it is great to see the support given from other to perfect strangers. It reminds me of a story I heard that I will post next about helping strangers.
This post is one of my favorite things to read each week. Please never stop expressing your feelings, never stop digressing, nothing is insignificant or off topic when it comes to talking with each other.
Derek
· 1 year ago
Ok, so here is my story...maybe it will make some sense to some people.
"A man was walking down the street when he fell into a very large, very deep hole. Looking around he could find no way. He looked up and saw a doctor walking by:
The man called up to the doctor and said, "Doctor, I am stuck in this hole, can you help me out".
The doctor took out a pen and pad and wrote down a prescription and dropped it down the hole to the man.
Next the man saw a priest walking by. "Hey father, I am stuck down in this hole, can you help me out? he yelled up the priest.
The priest look down, said and prayer for him and continued walking.
Next the man saw and old friend walking walking by. "Hey buddy, I am stuck down in this hole, can you help me out".
His buddy looked down, and quickly jumped into the hole with him.
"Great" the man said, "now we are both stuck down in this hole".
"Yes" said his friend, "but I have been in this hole before, and I know the way out"."
Paul from Austria
· 1 year ago
Derek, that's a wonderful short story, and the moral is that we must not keep knowledge to ourselves, we must pass it on for he good of future generations. Who knows, by doing so we may avert great tragedies. Thank you, Paul
Maria-M
· 1 year ago
"We have a contract, you and I : not to win when victory is possible,” she insisted."
I absoultely agree, and I have made this pact with my husband. We have agreed there should be no winners in a marriage. In relationships sometimes "when you win, you lose"
wanbliska
· 1 year ago
So many times. This is first a lack of confidence in oneself and blindness.
We know now many ways of breaking pacts. First to recognize it. And what is a pact?
A pact is like a piece of paper, on which we would sign a big yes. It gives enthousiasm first, and lasts or dicrease.
Sometimes we sign, without knowing why we are doing. But just because it makes us happy. Because it is new. Sometimes, we sign a big no, just because one person told us, we'd be unable to win. And we let one of our gift alone. For a while. Or forever.
When we have a dream, we want to reach it. So we want to win. Love helps us to, and love is the journey as the victory.
It happens we can't move anymore, we can't make any decisions still. We can feel we are closer to death that before. But it is only a new door to open, to feel lighter. It depends on the way we're able to see it.
A pact is just a sign at the end of a paper, we can burn whenever we want. But one has to know why he interrupted a gift to grow. Something maybe too easy to play and figure as a work, with certainty.
...why he seeks for taking energy from others, since he knows it will only make him happy for a time. In himself he fights. In himself, he goes to search energy. That one he can only make light forever. In himself, he goes to know why his fruits are so poor, in regards with his first dreams. There, he sees all the pacts he signed "yes", though he felt the contrary. He realized he listened more to others, than his inner voice. So, he breaks pacts, and sign new ones. Ones that answer to his gift(s). His.
Your story is merely funny Derek, thank you.
I send you all my love.
Agnieszka
· 1 year ago
Great story Derek, and... true what you wrote Paul, the light should be spread..
love Agnieszka
Tania
· 1 year ago
Pacts are sometimes about winning and losing ,or giving yourself to it or letting it go ..but when it does not go our way it is for a very good reason ...and this in turn gives us more empowerment and can set us free. The best pacts are those made with the Father ,son and Holy spirit ..trust the outcome positive or negative and give thanks that this is how it is ,bless it and just be . Soon or later we all see the bigger picture . Blessings Tania
Liisa
· 1 year ago
When I feel that winning does more good to the other party and they need it more than I do, to gain more confidence in themselves, I have knowingly not given my best.
In fact, now that I think of it, I do this a lot.
I guess it is to do with growing up and living with people who have a short temper and a very strong will – people who cannot handle losing. It is better to agree to their will rather than fight over every meaningless little thing, cos to them these things are not little.
But at the same time, when I feel something is important and worth fighting for, I am very persistant and will not give up. Especially if my winning means that the other party will learn from the combat and the losing situation, rather than it destroying their confidence and will to try again.
Liliana
· 1 year ago
In my opinion winning is all for the ego, so if we come from ego we will never make that pact because ego will always want to win. On the other hand if our goal is to grow as spiritual beings than we will make pacts not to win all the time, for in that case winning is not important but being humble and appreciating the experience. When the time comes in which the experience is not serving us anymore, then is time to move on. This is most of the times more difficult in love relationships than anything else, for fear of being alone seems to be humanities worst enemy. We cannot let the fear be our master, we always need to chose love... Blessings to all...
joy calosa
· 1 year ago
I don't know... Maybe, I guess... But Trina... broke that pact for me...
~~~
Yeah, I did make that pact. ... Because it feels so lonely to be up there all alone...
In the words of The Corrs: "don't want tot wake up alone anymore"
2bwritten
· 1 year ago
Maybe that's the pact that Jesus made with God. How then, does this inform the way we ought to live our lives? Does anyone have any thoughts?
Agnieszka
· 1 year ago
Dear 2bwritten,
Yes...to sacrifice, to die,...to save the world from sin. But..I don’t think that God wants us to die or sacrifice. Like in this movie: “Brother sun, sister moon” about St. Francis; when St. Francis says that God asks each of us only those things we can handle and serve the world in the name of love. "Love one another as yourself"; that’s the greatest commandment of all, because... God is love.
love Agnieszka
Rami
· 1 year ago
Although many desire to win, victory can sometimes be so close that its nearly suffocating. In this moment some fear the realization of their goals and freeze until winning is no longer possible. Many call this cowardly, I believe it can sometimes be courageous. If a person cannot manage their success then they may not be ready to succeed. It takes a brave person to realize he/she is not ready and that there is still more to learn. Sometimes we need to take a step back in order to take bigger and more steps forward. Consequently, losing when winning is possible is sometimes necessary for the further personal advancement of that person.
I have never personally chose to lose when winning was possible; yet I acknowledge that not doing so may be a direct cause of much of my immature nature. Not only can losing when winning is possible benefit myself, it can benefit others who's time to shine, while more well deserved, has always been clouded by others selfish intentions.
I feel it is vital for everyone to sometimes lose when winning is possible because, when success is finally realized, it will be far more rewarding, meaningful, and will further contribute in developing yourself into a more complete individual.
Carmen Larisa
· 1 year ago
I read "The Valkyries" and I remember this line very clearly. I guess that it's a pact but who has a gain from it? Not wanting to win when victory is possible sounds so strange but still so real... It depends on what is there to win. It can be the case when you take part in a race, just for the sake of the game, not necessarily wanting to win. This doesn't have bad effects. And there is another case, when you are not courageous and motivated enough to win, when you know it's possible but still, it implies too much effort and you are not willing to do that. This is the situation of spiritual search, I believe, when people think that evolving implies too much hard work, because it is easier to destroy than to construct and to criticize others than to do the respective thing by yourself the way you want others to do it for you. It seems that perfection is a very remote dream and only those who are very determined and brave can get closer to it every single day, overcoming all the inevitable obstacles in the way because they know that no matter how long it is, any road starts with a step, any ladder seems just an endless possibility if you are not willing to do the first move and then continue with another one and so on. People would prefer to evolve but to do somebody else the hard work for them; this is not the way things go forward, and even if they seem to go backwards sometimes, they still go forwards! :-) Burdens can become feathers if you start counting them one by one, instead of seeing their whole volume. Who said that it would be easy anyway? Life imposes some sacrifices but later they are transformed into blessings, if you have the patience to see the results of what you have planted, you will be pleasantly surprised by the results! I am convinced that God loves sincere, selfless and determined people and offers them all sorts of blessings sooner or later! ;-)
All my appreciation and respect, including for the wonderful stories in the latest issue of "The Warrior of the Light" online magazine... Thank you so much, dear Sir! :-) Lots of love and hugs, Carmen Larisa
P.S. I liked "The Pilgrimage" infinitely more than "The Valkyries," maybe because those women were so strange, they seemed more devilish to me than angelic... Anyway, I love the sincerity of your writing, even though this implies revealing intimate things from your life and from your dear wife's too; I am coinvinced that it is not always easy and pleasant, but at least your words express reality and this is wonderful, wanting to reveal your soul in front of so many people, your readers, I greatly admire that! Namaste!
All Comments
If you want to listen to the music, why do not dance? If you want to see the ocean, why do not swim? If you have one step to the top of the mountain, why do not reach the summit?
"The rule of victory is to win."
love
Agnieszka
during these years i felt my soul died million times..all these years chances were appearing, cause now i realise God never neglects us, but i always made terrible choices - simply i had grown into not loving myself..i was severy beaten at home, since i remember myself and during adolescence, constant fights about how i am supposed to be in this society according to my 'parents', my grandmother's death, who i considered her to be my mom, and the only person i had received love, a love disappointment at school, all these led to an empty feeling inside, and resentment for this world and for myself..all i wanted was to hurt myself, and i made the pact to never think of me as worthy and beautiful, and i would not love myself for that who i am..then i gave up all my dreams, of music, and i didnt touch my piano for all these years..and i kept constantly making terrible choices, but now i was the one who was killing myself for a change... i m not so sure if i have broken this pact, cause the wounds are deep, an sometimes i feel my scars bleeding..yeti hope someday i ll forgive myself for denying this gift of life..everyday passing by i feel stronger..though, as you may have read this previous week, i was pretty down..i try ..it is hard for me not to be hard on myself...but i learnt to love myself by loving others..so sometimes i see myself as a wounded little girl needing affection and love, and try to give her some love...
everyday passing day i feel stronger though i know i have a long long way yet..
but yes i realised that victory is possible, and it is everywhere possible..
all you have to do is believe ...
i believe in miracles..
Sorry for this big post
Love to all of you
Was there any suggestion that this was a "rewrite" of Genesis' Flood story - i.e. God's anger / disappointment with his creatures, His revenge, and then His regret at the carnage caused,, concluding with His promise/covenant never to do such a thing again??
I should appreciate any comment you might make.
Sincerely
Monica
remember, those around us sometimes doesn't know how to love. Maybe they weren't love by their parents, maybe they are lost in their lives, maybe they are afraid. But there's no reason for punishing yourself, for making your life miserable. God doesn't want anybody to suffer.
I've been through so many terrible moments in my childhood, but...although I cried a lot, was so alone, I..never lost hope, I never lost faith, and I never..stopped believing that there will be a moment in my life that the sun will shine.
Please never, ever treat yourself as not worthy, not lovable, because you are so much more than that, YOU are a sweet, beautiful angel.
I mean it and I love you.
Sun will always shine for you as long as you live.
When you believe....miracle happens.
lots and lots of love
Agnieszka
You story touched me deeply. To some extent I have experienced a semilar experience like you. But Keep that hope, love and faith going beautiful God is near, and he is hearing you. Unfortunately this type of wounds take time to heal, just like they took long time to take over your beautiful soul to hate yourself. But i promise you beautiful cast all your cares unto Him the blessed Saviour, and he will take care of you. Say this prayer every time you wake up and before you sleep
"Lord grant me your Holy Sprit to love myself today and always and let Thy Holy Sprit shine on me through You"
Surrender all to The Blessed Saviour and surely He will take care of you.
Love you beautiful
God bless
Elley
I always thought I should never let a man walk over me, that equality is an obvious thing, and before my last love trial I promised myself I will never lose in front of a man. My pride didn’t lose, but I ended up losing him and myself as a result.
My new contract with myself is that should I get another chance at love, I will not win. Even if I still end up losing him, at least I will not doubt my actions towards love.
Classical “if I win, I lose, and if I lose…maybe, just maybe we win” situation.
You have had the misfortune to have been very badly treated, and your scars are obviously very deep, but please believe (and I am talking from experience, otherwise I wouldn't dare to make comment), that it is possible to gain strength from negative experiences, and this new "won" strength, can make you "unbeatable"!
I don't believe that miracles just happen...they are surely earned? We must believe, be patient and keep our hearts and minds open. You have taken the move to open your heart via this blog (thank you dear Poulo), I sincerely wish, from the bottom of my heart, that this will help you to achieve your dreams and goals.
Never give up, Love Paul xxx
then who makes a pact when there's love?
love
Agnieszka
love...is
love
Agnieszka
but I do not have a pact with them all,.. or am I missing the point here? If I am, please help me. Love, Paul
opening my heart here was simply a cry in the universe..and i thought that by sharing this would make the pain less..and the healing process faster.. because this place seems to me so illuminated by you, by your hearts, by your thoughts, andand is really very helpful..and i ll just say that i receive here more love than i had ever ever taken ..
Agnieszka, your wings protect me in another plane but i do feel them even here..
Elleni, your words felt like a light breeze in the morning light..smoothing and caressing..i ll say this prayer every time i begin and end my day, and ll carry you always in my heart..forever..thank you..,
Paul..i am always so grateful for your support,for your inspiring attitude..
you are all one of a kind..
definetely all you here are a DREAM-team..
Love
Annie
"If neither your joys nor your sorrows will not become big, the world will become small"
Khalil Gibran
love
Agnieszka
love
Agnieszka
i believe what Agnieszka was saying was that when you are surrounded by love and you are aware of how beautiful can life be, the so called 'awareness of life', that Paulo says in 'Veronica decided to die' then you dont make this pact..and you simply dont decide to 'die'..
PS: Annie, I'll walk this especially for you OK, xxx
Right now my mind is focused on the end goal of what you are doing. Is the goal simply to win? Or are you more concerned with how you win, what you win, and why you are trying to win.
I think sometimes in life we are presented with easy victories, ones that seem to take little effort but at the same time serve no real purpose in our lives. Therefore, we won those only because we could, not because we really wanted to.
I think the search, the journey has to be about more than just winning. It has to be about how you go about your life, not the end result. It has to be about why you are doing something, not just what you are doing.
Often times people loose site of the how and the why. The are so concerned with just the end goals in life that they are willing to do anything to acheive them. This is winning simply to win.
Winning is not always the right thing to do, especially if ultimatly it undermines your goals.
I wish you absorb every single minute of your pilgrimage, and may it be a path to a better magnificent YOU.. Do tell how it went!!! i will definitely look forward to..i ll be thinking of you, sending you all my strength..
God bless you..
Love to all of you
Annie
I wish you a beautiful journey, so every step would be a moment of joy, moment of your life.
love
Agnieszka
P.S. Don't feel bad about your english, we all make mistakes, and are confused many, many times.
Thank you for being here.
Paul, Agnieszka, Elleni and especilly Annie. All of you are the real and exist warriors at present.I salute you all. May your journey be bless.
sincerely
i feel so shattered when others do what i have put myself into..its like striking a chord..
and the thing is when you lose yourself there is really nothing left..no place to grab to..no place you can call home..and every night i remembered myself praying for rain to wash away all my past and wake up in another world..
what you say about the meaning of life..it is true that sometimes we cant see what is the meaning of water if we dont know how fire is...but no longer should you wait..your life doesnt wait..it is here for you..and if you dont believe in yourself, start little by little, by half an hour a day, and then byan hour a day, to do things that build your confidence and your belief in you..Mostly try to do something that you like..To everything we like we try to be good...we are all on a way, that is for sure...but sometimes we have fallen astray and take a wrong path..i pray every night my angel guide me in this path to reach the bridge to paradise..i know this will be a long, hard and tough road..but knowing that i am on the right path, on the one that i and only i chose for myself, and not others, and being aware of my angel beside me,that i pushed him away, makes it easier..
and maybe sometimes when you share your trouble, this becomes less stronger..and so we can can diminutate it.. and vanishes little by little..On the other hand, if we spread our joy to the others, this 'happiness' overpowers all and it s expanded, so it is augmented!
\sending all my love to you
Thank you, it's good to be in the company of such a warrior as yourself. God bless you too.
love
Agnieszka
God bless you
What is victory in the eye of love?
When you want to win for victory you already loose by your fear of losing. We all make pacts when love isn't heared.
Of course I lost myself several times to a pact that I made. Not winning or loosing is important to me but breaking pacts which keeps me away from myself and love.
Dear Karen thank you for your lesson there is one thing that I want to share with you how do you measure a full deck?
Love
All Ways
Hildegarde
Are you sure you liked him. I saw the guy I thought I liked last year, I'm already laughing. He's marrying a 19 year old, and he's not educated, gotten fat,...
"What was I thinking???" I didn't even know him, I do now! He's "that guy." Come to find out he was hitting on my best friend two weeks before he even proposed. My point is, you have to know what you want to win it.
He's such a coward he even had his friend mess with me. Thank God, he prefers teenagers to adults!:)
I've read this somewhere, but it seems so wise, hope it might help a little:
"remember, this too will pass, whatever it is..."
love
Agnieszka
such a pact should definitely be made at some point or another.
PS The message is in the Universal Language.
Love
All Ways
Hildegarde
Love to all x
The Austrian section of the Jacobsweg is 50 kilometres long and has a total of 1190 metres in vertical climb. It is categorized as a 2 day walk, and I walked it in 1 day. The day began after a very sleepless night and prior to the start, I was so confused and somehow afraid. Perhaps because I knew I would be getting much closer to my soul? (There you find out things you don't necessarily want to;) I was of course absolutely exhausted upon arrival at Melk Monastery, but unfortunately it was closed (very late) and I was disappointed not to be able to enter the Monastery to say my thanks. I cried out of frustration and tiredness, but non-the-less, I was so grateful to have been able to carry myself, despite the pain of the effort, to the finish. The pain I felt was your pain, dear Annie, and today it has gone, and I truly hope that with it, yours has also gone, or at least drastically diminished. I will be so happy if it helped you. LoL, Paul xxx
Love and Victory ALWAYS in easy ways and in difficult ways...
How are you dear?
...
But also we should always try to have higher goals.
Love
Tanja:)
you can t imagine how you have helped me..and all of you dear friends in this blog..all of this an act of love..a leaf from the Big Tree of Love..so beautiful, like all of you..
i really can never thank you enough..today it s a whole new day .. a whole new world..
i will always have you deep inside my heart, dear Paul! i will never ever forget this.. thank you so much..
We do such pacts bcoz we dont want to feel bad bcoz we never tried something..we want to be able to say: "i tried..i honestly did, but it didn't work out"
so we do pacts to avoid winning, even though that means losing but for the sake of feeling it wasn't in our hands and we did all we could...
I could go on and on about this and other things, but since its 2:12 am here, I won't
Good night all :)
Dearest Annie, I can't tell you how happy this makes me feel, knowing that the "Excercise" worked in your favour, and that your "pain" has been relinquished.
You know why this worked don't you dear Annie? It worked because we and all our dear "PauloCoelhoBlog" friends, believed that it would. We all walked together, as we do mostly every day in this Blog.
This has in turn strengthened my belief in myself, and has convinced me that it is my destiny to use my power to help others.
Thank you Paulo, Annie, Agnieszka, and all of you here in this Blog, for walking with me.
Lots of Love Paul xxx
love
aditya
and..that you thought of me.
and..yes...because of Paulo...we're here, and we're becoming a better people...thank You Paulo.
love
Agnieszka
We need to stop being defined by the ills of this post-postmodern age in order for us to be able to develop the skills we require to deal with them. We feed too much on the ills of our world.
Love and compassion are far greater victories than those our egos think are important.
Love to all
Sue
Thank you Mr Paulo , cause like the water that flows through the mountains and goes on its way, despite all the rocks it encounters - problems, mistakes, circumstances, faults- you 'pushed' me to find myself and be that water...
Love you all
Annie
why am i doing this to myself?
I do not think it is that anyone here is right or wrong, it is that these questions are very though provoking and often we all look at them a little different. We bring our own backgrounds and life expirences to our responses. Even our moods that given day influence how we look at these questions.
That of course leads to more personal discussions regarding what we are all going through in our lives. It is an amazing connection that we form here and it is great to see the support given from other to perfect strangers. It reminds me of a story I heard that I will post next about helping strangers.
This post is one of my favorite things to read each week. Please never stop expressing your feelings, never stop digressing, nothing is insignificant or off topic when it comes to talking with each other.
"A man was walking down the street when he fell into a very large, very deep hole. Looking around he could find no way. He looked up and saw a doctor walking by:
The man called up to the doctor and said, "Doctor, I am stuck in this hole, can you help me out".
The doctor took out a pen and pad and wrote down a prescription and dropped it down the hole to the man.
Next the man saw a priest walking by. "Hey father, I am stuck down in this hole, can you help me out? he yelled up the priest.
The priest look down, said and prayer for him and continued walking.
Next the man saw and old friend walking walking by. "Hey buddy, I am stuck down in this hole, can you help me out".
His buddy looked down, and quickly jumped into the hole with him.
"Great" the man said, "now we are both stuck down in this hole".
"Yes" said his friend, "but I have been in this hole before, and I know the way out"."
I absoultely agree, and I have made this pact with my husband. We have agreed there should be no winners in a marriage. In relationships sometimes "when you win, you lose"
This is first a lack of confidence in oneself and blindness.
We know now many ways of breaking pacts. First to recognize it. And what is a pact?
A pact is like a piece of paper, on which we would sign a big yes. It gives enthousiasm first, and lasts or dicrease.
Sometimes we sign, without knowing why we are doing. But just because it makes us happy. Because it is new.
Sometimes, we sign a big no, just because one person told us, we'd be unable to win. And we let one of our gift alone. For a while. Or forever.
When we have a dream, we want to reach it. So we want to win. Love helps us to, and love is the journey as the victory.
It happens we can't move anymore, we can't make any decisions still. We can feel we are closer to death that before. But it is only a new door to open, to feel lighter. It depends on the way we're able to see it.
A pact is just a sign at the end of a paper, we can burn whenever we want.
But one has to know why he interrupted a gift to grow. Something maybe too easy to play and figure as a work, with certainty.
...why he seeks for taking energy from others, since he knows it will only make him happy for a time.
In himself he fights. In himself, he goes to search energy. That one he can only make light forever. In himself, he goes to know why his fruits are so poor, in regards with his first dreams.
There, he sees all the pacts he signed "yes", though he felt the contrary. He realized he listened more to others, than his inner voice.
So, he breaks pacts, and sign new ones.
Ones that answer to his gift(s). His.
Your story is merely funny Derek, thank you.
I send you all my love.
and... true what you wrote Paul, the light should be spread..
love
Agnieszka
The best pacts are those made with the Father ,son and Holy spirit ..trust the outcome positive or negative and give thanks that this is how it is ,bless it and just be .
Soon or later we all see the bigger picture .
Blessings Tania
In fact, now that I think of it, I do this a lot.
I guess it is to do with growing up and living with people who have a short temper and a very strong will – people who cannot handle losing. It is better to agree to their will rather than fight over every meaningless little thing, cos to them these things are not little.
But at the same time, when I feel something is important and worth fighting for, I am very persistant and will not give up. Especially if my winning means that the other party will learn from the combat and the losing situation, rather than it destroying their confidence and will to try again.
On the other hand if our goal is to grow as spiritual beings than we will make pacts not to win all the time, for in that case winning is not important but being humble and appreciating the experience.
When the time comes in which the experience is not serving us anymore, then is time to move on. This is most of the times more difficult in love relationships than anything else, for fear of being alone seems to be humanities worst enemy. We cannot let the fear be our master, we always need to chose love...
Blessings to all...
Maybe, I guess...
But Trina... broke that pact for me...
~~~
Yeah, I did make that pact.
...
Because it feels so lonely to be up there all alone...
In the words of The Corrs:
"don't want tot wake up alone anymore"
Yes...to sacrifice, to die,...to save the world from sin. But..I don’t think that God wants us to die or sacrifice. Like in this movie: “Brother sun, sister moon” about St. Francis; when St. Francis says that God asks each of us only those things we can handle and serve the world in the name of love.
"Love one another as yourself"; that’s the greatest commandment of all, because... God is love.
love
Agnieszka
I have never personally chose to lose when winning was possible; yet I acknowledge that not doing so may be a direct cause of much of my immature nature. Not only can losing when winning is possible benefit myself, it can benefit others who's time to shine, while more well deserved, has always been clouded by others selfish intentions.
I feel it is vital for everyone to sometimes lose when winning is possible because, when success is finally realized, it will be far more rewarding, meaningful, and will further contribute in developing yourself into a more complete individual.
Not wanting to win when victory is possible sounds so strange but still so real... It depends on what is there to win.
It can be the case when you take part in a race, just for the sake of the game, not necessarily wanting to win. This doesn't have bad effects. And there is another case, when you are not courageous and motivated enough to win, when you know it's possible but still, it implies too much effort and you are not willing to do that. This is the situation of spiritual search, I believe, when people think that evolving implies too much hard work, because it is easier to destroy than to construct and to criticize others than to do the respective thing by yourself the way you want others to do it for you.
It seems that perfection is a very remote dream and only those who are very determined and brave can get closer to it every single day, overcoming all the inevitable obstacles in the way because they know that no matter how long it is, any road starts with a step, any ladder seems just an endless possibility if you are not willing to do the first move and then continue with another one and so on.
People would prefer to evolve but to do somebody else the hard work for them; this is not the way things go forward, and even if they seem to go backwards sometimes, they still go forwards! :-)
Burdens can become feathers if you start counting them one by one, instead of seeing their whole volume. Who said that it would be easy anyway? Life imposes some sacrifices but later they are transformed into blessings, if you have the patience to see the results of what you have planted, you will be pleasantly surprised by the results! I am convinced that God loves sincere, selfless and determined people and offers them all sorts of blessings sooner or later! ;-)
All my appreciation and respect, including for the wonderful stories in the latest issue of "The Warrior of the Light" online magazine... Thank you so much, dear Sir! :-)
Lots of love and hugs,
Carmen Larisa
P.S. I liked "The Pilgrimage" infinitely more than "The Valkyries," maybe because those women were so strange, they seemed more devilish to me than angelic... Anyway, I love the sincerity of your writing, even though this implies revealing intimate things from your life and from your dear wife's too; I am coinvinced that it is not always easy and pleasant, but at least your words express reality and this is wonderful, wanting to reveal your soul in front of so many people, your readers, I greatly admire that!
Namaste!