BY THE RIVER PIEDRA I SAT DOWN AND WEPT

A Beautiful Book

Kat gave me this book as a birthday present together with Jane Austen Book Club – so, I assume that they are birthday presents since a bloody Bangladeshi took her shopping bag with my "supposedly" birthday present in it, Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses.

Since I have nothing to do this Chinese New Year, it is good to catch up with some precious reading. I am having problems with The Tibetan Book on Living and Dying. The Monk says, probably, it is not my destiny to read the book now.

It is a simply beautiful book.

Excerpts from By the River Peidra I Sat Down and Wept, by Paul Coelho.

And with love, there are no rules. Some may try to control their emotions and develop strategies for their behavior; others may turn to reading books of advice from “experts” on relationships – but this is all folly. The heart decides, and what it decides is all that really matters.

All of us have had this experience. At some point, we have each said through our tears, “I’m suffering for a love that’s not worth it.” We suffer because we feel we are giving more than we receive. We suffer because our love is going unrecognized. We suffer because we are unable to impose our own rules.

But, ultimately, there is no good reason for our suffering, for in every love lies the seed of our growth. The more we love, the closer we come to spiritual experience. Those who are truly enlightened, those whose souls are illuminated by love, have been able to overcome all of the inhibitions and preconceptions of their era. They have been able to sing, to laugh, and to pray out loud; they have danced and shared what Saint Paul called, “the madness of saintliness”. They have been joyful – because those who love conquer the world and have no fear of loss. True love is an act of total surrender.

.. Sigh. I am going to re-read this book.

Before I forget...

Happy Birthday, Kat!