"Life takes us by surprise and orders us to move toward the unknown..."

I posted some of my favorite quotable phrases and excerpts from the novel By the River Piedra...under the pen of the famous Brazilian novelist and lyricist, most admired now amongst roster of good and excellent writers ....Paolo Coelho
I am a big admirer of Coelho and his fine works since this very first book I am reading via eBook because of the wisdom he imparts to his readers. A great living novelist of the modern world.

The Lord only demands of us what is within our capabilities.

I don't know what his fears are, but I know my
own. I don't need new fears–my own are enough.

But love is much like a dam: if you allow a tiny crack to form through which
only a trickle of water can pass, that trickle will quickly bring down the whole
structure, and soon no one will be able to control the force of the current.
For when those walls come down, then love takes over, and it no longer matters
what is possible or impossible; it doesn't even matter whether we can keep the
loved one at our side. To love is to lose control.
No, no, I cannot allow such a crack to form. No matter how small.

Ridiculous, I thought to myself. There's nothing deeper than love. In fairy
tales, the princesses kiss the frogs, and the frogs become princes. In real
life, the princesses kiss princes, and the princes turn into frogs.


"I've been in love before. It's like a narcotic. At
first it brings the euphoria of complete surrender. The next day, you want more.
You're not addicted yet, but you like the sensation, and you think you can still
control things. You think about the person you love for two minutes, and forget
them for three hours.
"But then you get used to that person, and you begin to be completely dependent
on them. Now you think about him for three hours and forget him for two minutes.
If he's not there, you feel like an addict who can't get a fix. And just as
addicts steal and humiliate themselves to get what they need, you're willing to
do anything for love."
"So we should love only those who can stay near us,"

"What is your path?"
"The path of someone seeking love."
"And love's path is really complicated,"
"Because on that path we can go either to heaven or to hell?"