Walk Neither Faster or Slower

My underlined words and passages from Paulo Coelho’s book, Manuscript Found in Accra

Apocryphal Gospels…Muratorian Canon…Scars speak more loudly than the sword that caused them…Defeat is for those who, despite their fears, live with enthusiasm and faith…For those who are not frightened by the solitude that reveals all mysteries, everything will have a different taste…Walk neither faster nor slower than your own soul, because it is your soul that will teach you the usefulness of each step you take. Sometimes taking part in a great battle will be the thing that will help to change the course of history. But sometimes you can do that simply by smiling, for no reason, at someone you happen to pass on the street…You would still never know exactly when you had been useful to someone else…Do one thing: Live the life you always wanted to live. Avoid criticizing others and concentrate on fulfilling your dreams…Or: “I wish I was like the wind, for no one knows where it comes from nor where it goes, and it can change direction without ever having to explain why.”…Dreaming carries no risks….the correct path is the path of nature, which is constantly changing, like the dunes in the desert. Those who think that the mountains don’t change are wrong; they are born out of earthquakes, are eroded by wind and rain, and each day are slightly different even though we do not notice…Joy. That is one of the main blessings of the All Powerful. If we are happy, we are on the right road…travelers meet other people on the road who are feeling just the same. As they talk, they realize that they are not alone; they become traveling companions and share their solutions to various obstacles. And they all feel wiser and more alive than they thought they were…”Difficulty” is the name of an ancient tool that was created purely to help us define who we are…faith and transformation are the only ways of drawing near to God…Faith shows us that we are never along. Transformation helps us to love the mystery…the place where the morning star is born…And to those who believe that adventures are dangerous, I say, try routine; that kills you far more quickly…Beauty exist not in sameness but in difference…the many colors out of which dreams and poetry are made…Enthusiasm is the Sacred Fire…”I am an instrument”…That is the beauty of the person who continues onward with enthusiasm and respect for the mystery of life as his only guide; his road is beautiful and his burden light…Love is an act of faith, not an exchange…No one can go back, but everyone can go forward…I will look at everything and everyone as if for the first time, especially the small things that I have grown used to, quite forgetting the magic surrounding them…my soul feeds on mysteries…loneliness is a lie, because the Universe is there to keep me company…Stay close to those who sing, tell stories, and enjoy life, and whose eyes sparkle with happiness. Because happiness is contagious and will always manage to find a solution, whereas logic can find only an explanation for the mistake made…No matter how you are feeling, get up every morning and prepare to let your light shine forth. Those with eyes to see will see your light and be enchanted by it…Elegance is not an outer quality, but a part of the soul that is visible to others…What is success? It is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace…Help us to understand that wisdom lies not in the answer we are given, but in the mystery of the questions that enrich our lives…The most terrible of all weapons is the word, which can ruin a life without leaving a trace of blood, and whose wounds never heal. Let us, then, be masters of our tongue and not slaves of our words…your enemies are not the adversaries who were put there to test your courage. They are the cowards who were put there to test your weakness.