Quotes from Like A Flowing River by Paulo Coelho (part 3)

Death is always sitting by your side so that, when you need to do something important, it will give you the strength and the courage that you need

It would be foolish to be frightened by death, because all of us, sooner or later, are going to die. And only those who accept their fact are prepare for life

How many of us, in our own lives, ever dare to ask : Why do I believe in such and such way? In what we do, how far are we, too, using futile 'cats' that we do not have the courage to get rid of because we were told that the 'cats' were important in order to keep everything running smoothly?

Sometimes the world asks us to fight for things we do not understand, and whose significance we will never discover

If you believe in the doctors, nothing is wholesome
If you believe in the theologians, nothing is innocent
If you believe in the soldiers, nothing is safe (Lord Salisbury)

It is important to accept one's passions, and not to lose one's enthusiasm for conquests

Although God is always close, if you don't pray, you will never manage to feel His presence

A warrior of light who trusts too much in his intelligence will end up underestimating the power of his opponent

A warrior of light is never cowardly

I believe that the life of every human being is, at some point, touched by tragedy

Life is at constant risk, and anyone who forgets this will be unprepared for the challenges that fate may have in store

Life is like a great bicycle race, whose aim is to fulfill our personal legend, which, according to the ancient alchemists, is our true mission on earth

We must love because we ourselves are loved by God
We must have an awareness of death in order fully to understand life
We must struggle in order to grow, but without allowing ourselves to be deceived bu the power that is gained through that struggle, because we know that such power is worthless. We must accept that our soul - even though it is eternal - is at this moment caught in the web of time, with all its opportunities and limitations

So often in our lives, we are crumpled, trampled, ill-treated, insulted, and yet, despite all that, we are still worth the same

It is part of human nature always to judge others very severely and, when the wind turns against us, always to find an excuse for our own misdeeds, or to blame someone else for our mistakes

God is, above all, an artist. He invented giraffe, the elephant, and the ant. He never tried to follow one particular style. He simply kept on doing whatever he felt like doing (Pablo Picasso)

If we are unhappy, we bring unhappiness upon our friends also (Mohammed)

We can choose a religion, but we must understand that if our brother chooses a different religion, he will eventually reach the same point of light that we are seeking in our spiritual practices

It's a shame that people see only the differences that separate them. If you were to look with more love, you would mainly see what we have in common, then half the world's problems would be solved

Love transforms and love cures; but sometimes, love builds deadly traps and can end up destroying a person who had resolved to give him or herself completely

Believing that a miracle could happen at any moment is necessary for our happiness, but also for our protection and to justify our existence