Old Tree in the Forest

It is really a great wonder how the mind works. We are often gripped with a feeling near awe when we marvel works of the creative mind. Goosebumps populate the skin as we see the aesthetics unfold in our mortal eyes. We will be transported to a wonderful world where pain and darkness are converted into something wonderful…best, meaningful.

I have always been a reader. Part of my being is to venture into the minds of those writers who grab me by the collar and push me to dark pits, not abysmal but areas where there are touching grounds. The journey towards the base always unhinges my old beliefs and sometimes shatters my prior concepts of life.

Filtering what to feed the gray matters in my head is easy. I do not want to be hooked to the pop culture where everybody is talking the same. Although I read the bestsellers but I always venture on the Bookerman shortlist, the sci fi, the macabre, the classics and genre which could be considered as trips to the alternative or yet, parallel universe.

My friend Simeon bought me twenty books from Italy. Most of them are from internationally-known Paulo Coelho. I shied away from his books some years ago since they were selling like hotcakes. I might be trapped with banal talk, I quipped. I was wrong. It was only then when I ventured into his prose (mostly translated into English) when I had this realization: There are still those who could connect to their spirits and are looking for the meaning of their existence! This is being manifest through the international acclaim the author gained. A theory I developed as I delved deeper into Coelho’s mind.

There are things that he introduced to me which created a lot of itch which I need to scratch. One is this: Why would beggars and homeless people think brilliantly than those who are successful ones? Are these really their thoughts? Here is one line of thought which struck me from a nomad: The world we know today is merely a story someone has told us, but it is not the true story. The other story includes special gifts and powers and the ability to go beyond what we know (The Zahir, 2005).

It seems then that the beggars are correct as they tell the main character that he is not who he is but a product of his past. The society dictates his so-called norms that is the reason why he had to study and work. The reason why, we the readers, eat breakfast, lunch and dinner is because it is dictated by our history…to un-conform to such societal dictates is to face the future…to be free from the past. Beggars (like those in his novel) are freeing themselves from their past by not being NORMAL at present.

In By The River Pietra I Sat Down and Wept, Coelho underscored the innate longing of the faithful (especially Catholics) to the female side of God. He insinuated that the reason why we adore The Lady (Our Lady) is because we want to be nurtured by the loving affection of a woman… God has this feminine nurturing side that we embrace Our Lady. His concepts might not be accepted by many but awakenings and shedding of shrouds are often experienced as he unveils his own truths.

ADULTERY tackles marital relationships which could be considered as perfect to the point that committing taboo deepens the understanding of a woman how to put imperfections to allow her to FEEL. It seems that a perfect life started to become boring and flat there must be meaning on drugs and extra-marital affairs. The plot could be difficult to accept and understand yet the basic truth of being insatiable often surface in all of us. It takes a married couple to jump from a cliff allowing windsurfing to free themselves from the criteria they set to define life.

Yes, Coelho’s books could be spiritual and deep. One could not even imagine them to be converted into films for the spirit could be difficult to project virtually. It would take intelligent actors to convince the viewers to understand the inner struggles of humanity. The business moguls might be disheartened to realize that the millions they will spend for production could not be compensated. How could one pay a ticket only to be shattered and proceed to the mending process?

I wanted to talk to someone after reading one of his books. The college boy whom we consider as a brother told me to slow down. He said that such things are only discussed by people who are OLD and DYING. He might be right…

We need to die first and be resurrected to the new truths that we find meaningful. We have to get old and ripen our understanding about love so to live.