Title: The Fifth Mountain
Author: Paulo Coelho
Publication: Harper
Genre: Motivational, Inspirational
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 119
Rating: 4/5
Paulo Coelho’s The
Fifth Mountain is a quaint theme work. As I know him as a writer of
motivational books who weaved essential life’s lessons into his extraordinary
stories. The Fifth Mountain is different though. He fictionalized the biblical
story of Elijah and a Jew. Book is all about faith, trust issues
regardless of religious convictions. I don’t want to distort the skeleton
of a book by précising the story but genuinely want to share few points which
really make us think actually what we are doing with our life.
· “If god is all-powerful, why doesn't He spare the suffering of
those who love Him? Why doesn't He
save them, instead of giving might and glory to His enemies?”
· “Here in this land there was once a
river.” But the only thing that mattered about a river, its flow of water,
would no longer be there to quench their thirst. Souls too, like rivulets and
plants, needed a different kind of rain: hope, faith, a reason to live. When
this did not come to pass, everything in that soul died, even if the body went
on living; and the people could say: “Here in this body there was once a man.”
· You have discovered how everything is
simple. Having courage is enough.
· This was freedom: to feel what the heart
desired, with no thought to the opinion of the rest.
· They had achieved everything they desired
because they were not limited by the frustrations of the past.”
· “Remember the good things you have done.
They will give you courage.”
· “What are you doing?”
“I have nothing to do,” she replied.
“Then learn something. At this moment, many people have stopped living.
They do not become angry, nor cry out; they merely wait for time to pass. They
did not accept the challenges of life, so life no longer challenges them. You
are running that same risk; react, face life, but do not stop living.”
· “All life’s battles teach us something,
even those we lose. When you grow up, you’ll discover that you have defended
lies, deceived yourself, or suffered for foolishness. If you’re a good warrior,
you will not blame yourself for this, but neither will you allow your mistakes
to repeat themselves.”
· “A child can always teach an adult three
things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to
know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.”
· Until now only the children have been able
to overcome what took place, because they have no past—for them, everything
that matters is the present moment. So we shall try to act as they do.”
· “And a warrior is always aware of what is
worth fighting for. He does not go into combat over things that do not concern
him, and he never wastes his time over provocations.
· “A warrior accepts defeat. He does not
treat it as a matter of indifference, nor does he attempt to transform it into
a victory. The pain of defeat is bitter to him; he suffers at indifference and
becomes desperate with loneliness. After all this has passed, he licks his
wounds and begins everything anew. A warrior knows that war is made of many
battles; he goes on.
· “Tragedies do happen. We can discover the
reason, blame others, imagine how different our lives would be had they not
occurred. But none of that is important: they did occur, and so be it.
· “Take advantage of the chance that
tragedy has given you; not everyone is capable of doing so.”
Really a worth read!
About the Author -
Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian author, who is known globally for his inspirational writing. He has received various international awards and his books have sold over 85 million copies and have been translated into several languages. Some of his other renowned works are The Alchemist and Eleven Minutes.