Archive for the ‘Paulo Coelho’ Tag

Just Say Yes To Life   Leave a comment

Desert Scene-9875-2_art blog“Magic” — Image by kenne

“Everything tells me
that I am about to
make a wrong decision,
but making mistakes
is just part of life.

What does the world want of me?
Does it want me to take no risks,
to go back to where I came from
because I didn’t have the courage
to say “yes” to life?”  

— Paulo Coelho

Life As We Know It Is Only A Little Parenthesis In Eternity   7 comments

Agua Caliente-9225 blog

Agua Caliente-9226 blog

Agua Caliente-9231 blogWhen a saguaro cactus dies and falls, much of it is into the environment. The old woodpecker nest holes remain because of the heavily lignized calous that was produced by the plant in response to the tissue damage. (The white crown in these images by kenne.)

“We are travelers on a cosmic journey,
stardust,swirling and dancing
in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity.
Life is eternal.
We have stopped for a moment
to encounter each other,
to meet,
to love,
to share.
This is a precious moment.
It is a little parenthesis in eternity.” 

― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Literature, The Gift That Keeps On Giving   4 comments

Vessel II Blue Background blogVessels — Image by kenne

The things that happen to us in life do so because we act.
The more we act, the more opportunities we have upon which to act,
the more we connect creating a vessel filled with learning moments.
If we don’t act on the moments,
each will become an opportunity lost.
Even so,
it’s essential to not think about what may have been left behind.

My vessel is an alchemy of acts
from which new opportunities are poured – acts attract acts.
Paulo Coelho wrote in his bestseller, The Alchemist, 

“There is only one way to learn,” the alchemist answered.
“It’s through action. Everything you need to know
you have learned through your journey.”

It was fifteen years ago that I first read Coelho’s enchanting fable.
It was in preparation for leading a group of four young professionals
to the state of São Paulo in Brazil that I learned of Paulo Coelho and his 1988 novel.
The book fits well into my philosophy
and set the tone for the trip and remains instrumental in my life.

I’m pleased to be reading this inspiring book fifteen years out.
The Alchemist is the gift that keeps on giving.
Some years ago after reading my poem Solstice Night,”
my brother Tom wrote to me that my poem
 reminded him
of the first lines from Conrad Aiken’s long poem, “The House of Dust.”

The sun goes down in a cold, pale flare of light.
The trees grow dark: the shadows lean to the east:
And lights wink out through the windows, one by one.
A clamor of frosty sirens mourns at the night.
Pale slate-grey clouds whirl up from the sunken sun.

In turn, his reminding me of Conrad Aiken, and my return to The Alchemist,
that reminded me of the following from Aiken’s poem, “A Letter from Li Po.”

what’s true in these, or false? which is the ‘I’
of ‘I’s’? Is it the master of the cadence, who
transforms all things to a hoop of flame, where through
tigers of meaning leap? And are these true,
the language never old and never new,
such as the world wears on its wedding day,
the something borrowed with something chicory blue?
In every part we play, we play ourselves;
even the secret doubt to which we come
beneath the changing shapes of self and thing,
yes, even this, at last, if we should call
and dare to name it, we would find
the only voice that answers is our own.
We are once more defrauded by the mind.

Defrauded? No. It is the alchemy by which we grow.
It is the self-becoming word, the word
becoming world. And with each part we play,
we add to cosmic Sum and cosmic sum.
Who knows but one day we shall find,
hidden in the prism at the rainbow’s foot,
the square root of the eccentric absolute,
and the concentric absolute to come.

So many gifts that keep on giving.

— kenne

Capturing Many Moments On The Aspen Loop   6 comments

Aspen Loop, hiking, Mt. LemmonHaving a snack at “lunch ledge” just off the Aspen Loop on Mount Lemmon as the clouds begin to build-up.

Aspen Loop, hiking, Mt. LemmonThere wasn’t much time to relax before lightning and thunder began causing us to start moving quickly back to the train head. — Images by kenne

Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.

— Paulo Coelho

 

Each Day Is But A Step In Our Journey   6 comments

“Out Along The Fall Trail” — Image by kenne

Davos (Switzerland) - The Brazilian writer Pau...

Davos (Switzerland) – The Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho during the World Economic Forum (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Joy is sometimes a blessing

but it is most often a conquest.

Our magic moments help us to change

and send us off in search of our dreams.

Yes, we are going to suffer along the way,

we will have difficult times,

and we will experience many severe disappointments —

but all of these are transitory and leave no permanent mark.

And one day we will look back with pride

and faith at the journey we have taken.” 

Paulo Coelho, in By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

 

The Gifts That Keep On Giving — Revisited   Leave a comment

Image by kenne

(First posted December 22, 2009)

The things that happen to us in life do so because we act. The more we act, the more opportunities we have upon which to act, the more we connect creating a vessel filled with learning moments. If we don’t act on the moments, each will become an opportunity lost.  Even so, it’s important to not think about what may have been left behind.

My vessel is an alchemy of acts from which new opportunities are poured – acts attract acts. Paulo Coelho wrote in his bestseller, The Alchemist, “There is only one way to learn,” the alchemist answered. “It’s through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.”

It was ten years ago that I first read Coelho’s enchanting fable. It was in preparation for leading a group of four young professionals to the state of Sáo Paulo in Brazil that I learned of Paulo Coelho and his 1988 novel. The book fit well into my own philosophy and set the tone for the trip and remains instrumental to my life.

Again, one act leads to another when at this past Sunday’s Society of the 5th Cave reading club meeting, The Alchemist was selected for the March reading. Once again the concept of alchemy is front stage, this time from a different perspective, which will create many new learning moments.

I’m please to be reading this inspiring book ten years out. The Alchemist is the gift that keeps on giving.  Just today I received an email from my brother Tom, reminding me of someone I have also not read in recent years, American poet, Conrad Aiken, which my poem “Solstice Night,” reminded him of the first lines from Aiken’s long poem, “The House of Dust.”

The sun goes down in a cold pale flare of light.
The trees grow dark: the shadows lean to the east:
And lights wink out through the windows, one by one.
A clamor of frosty sirens mourns at the night.
Pale slate-grey clouds whirl up from the sunken sun.

In turn, his reminding me of Conrad Aiken, and the return of The Alchemist, that reminded me of the following from Aiken’s poem, “A Letter from Li Po.”

what’s true in these, or false? which is the ‘I’
of ‘I’s’? Is it the master of the cadence, who
transforms all things to a hoop of flame, where through
tigers of meaning leap? And are these true,
the language never old and never new,
such as the world wears on its wedding day,
the something borrowed with something chicory blue?
In every part we play, we play ourselves;
even the secret doubt to which we come
beneath the changing shapes of self and thing,
yes, even this, at last, if we should call
and dare to name it, we would find
the only voice that answers is our own.
We are once more defrauded by the mind.

Defrauded? No. It is the alchemy by which we grow.
It is the self becoming word, the word
becoming world. And with each part we play
we add to cosmic Sum and cosmic sum.
Who knows but one day we shall find,
hidden in the prism at the rainbow’s foot,
the square root of the eccentric absolute,
and the concentric absolute to come.

So many gifts that keep on giving.

kenne

 

Capturing the Moment — Crazy Santa   Leave a comment

Crazy Santa by Jozef Krajco

There are moments when you
must be prepared to take a risk,
to do something crazy.
— Paulo Coelho

kenne

(Photo source – the blog Kiko’s House)

Posted December 26, 2009 by kenneturner in Life, Photography

Tagged with , , ,

The Gifts That Keep On Giving   2 comments

The things that happen to us in life do so because we act. The more we act, the more opportunities we have upon which to act, the more we connect, creating a vessel filled with learning moments. If we don’t act on the moments, each will become an opportunity lost. Even so, it’s important not to think about what may have been left behind.

My vessel is an alchemy of acts from which new opportunities are poured – acts attract acts. Paulo Coelho wrote in his bestseller, The Alchemist, “There is only one way to learn,” the alchemist answered. “It’s through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.”

It was ten years ago that I first read Coelho’s enchanting fable. It was in preparation for leading a group of four young professionals to the state of Sáo Paulo in Brazil that I learned of Paulo Coelho and his 1988 novel. The book fits well into my own philosophy and set the tone for the trip, and remains instrumental to my life.

Again, one act leads to another when at this past Sunday’s Society of the 5th Cave reading club meeting, The Alchemist was selected for the March reading. Once again, the concept of alchemy is the front stage, this time from a different perspective, which will create many new learning moments.

I’m pleased to be reading this inspiring book ten years out. The Alchemist is the gift that keeps on giving. Just today, I received an email from my brother Tom, reminding me of someone I have also not read in recent years, American poet Conrad Aiken, which my poem “Solstice Night,” reminded him of the first lines from Aiken’s long poem, “The House of Dust.”

The sun goes down in a cold, pale flare of light.
The trees grow dark: the shadows lean to the east:
And lights wink out through the windows, one by one.
A clamor of frosty sirens mourns at the night.
Pale slate-grey clouds whirl up from the sunken sun.

In turn, he reminded me of Conrad Aiken and the return of The Alchemist, which reminded me of the following from Aiken’s poem, “A Letter from Li Po.”

what’s true in these, or false? which is the ‘I’
of ‘I’s’? Is it the master of the cadence, who
transforms all things to a hoop of flame, where through
tigers of meaning leap? And are these true,
the language never old and never new,
such as the world wears on its wedding day,
the something borrowed with something chicory blue?
In every part we play, we play ourselves;
even the secret doubt to which we come
beneath the changing shapes of self and thing,
yes, even this, at last, if we should call
and dare to name it, we would find
the only voice that answers is our own.
We are once more defrauded by the mind.

Defrauded? No. It is the alchemy by which we grow.
It is the self-becoming word, the word
becoming world. And with each part we play
we add to cosmic Sum and cosmic sum.
Who knows but one day we shall find,
hidden in the prism at the rainbow’s foot,
the square root of the eccentric absolute,
and the concentric absolute to come.”

So many gifts that keep on giving.

— kenne