My Funeral by Paulo Coelho

An Excerpt from “Like The Flowing River” from Harper Collins Publishers

The journalist from The Mail on Sunday appears at my hotel in London and asks one simple question: “If you were to die today, what kind of funeral would you like?”

The truth is that the idea of death has been with me everyday since 1986, when I walked the Road to Santiago. Up until then, I had always been terrified at the thought that, one day, everything would end; but on one of the stages of that pilgrimage, I performed an exercise that consisted in experiencing what it felt like to be buried alive. It was such an intense experience that I lost all fear, and afterwards saw death as my daily companion, who is always by my side, saying: “I will touch you, but you don’t know when. Therefore live life as intensely as you can.”

Because of this, I never leave until tomorrow what I can do or experience today- and that includes joys, work obligations, saying I’m sorry if I feel I’ve offended someone, and contemplation of the present moment as if it were my last. I can remember many occasions when I have smelled the last perfume of death: that far-off day in 1974, in Aterro do Flamengo (Rio de Janeiro), where the taxi I was traveling in was blocked by another car, and a group of armed paramilitaries jumped out and put a hood over my head. Even though they assured me that nothing bad would happen to me, I was convinced that I was about to become another of the military regime’s “disappeared”.

Or when, in August 1989, I got lost on a climb in the Pyrenees. I looked around at the mountains bare of snow and vegetation, thought that I wouldn’t have the strength to go back, and concluded that my body would not be found until the following summer. Finally, after wandering around for many hours, I managed to find a track that led me to a remote village.

The journalist from The Mail on Sunday insists: but what would my funeral be like? Well, according to my will, there will be no funeral. I have decided to be cremated, and my wife will scatter my ashes in a place called El Cebrero in Spain- the place where I found my sword. Any unpublished manuscripts and typescripts will remain unpublished (I’m horrified at the number of “posthumous works” or “trunks full of papers” that writers’ heirs unscrupulously publish in order to make some money; if the authors chose not to publish these things while they were alive, their privacy should be respected). The sword that I found on the Road to Santiago will be thrown into the sea, and thus be returned to the place whence it came. And my money, along with the royalties that will continue to be received for another seventy years, will be devoted entirely to the charitable foundation I have set up.

“And what about your epitaph” asks the journalist. Well, since I’m going to be cremated, there won’t be a headstone on which to write an inscription, since my ashes will have been carried away on the wind. But if I had to choose a phrase, I would choose this: “He died while he was still alive.” That might seem a contradiction in terms; but I know a lot of people who have stopped living, even though they continue working and eating and carrying on with their usual social activities. They do everything on automatic pilot, unaware of the magic moments that each day brings with it, never stopping to think about the miracle of life, not understanding that the next minute could be their last on the face of the planet.

The journalist leaves, and I sit down at the computer and decide to write this. I know it’s not a topic anyone likes to think about, but I have a duty to my readers – to make them think about the important things in life. And death is possibly the most important thing. We are all walking towards death, but we never know when death will touch us and it is our duty, therefore, to look around us, to be grateful for each minute. But we should also be grateful to death, because it makes us think about the importance of each decision we take, or fail to take; it makes us stop doing anything that keeps us stuck in the category of the “living dead” and, instead, urges us to risk everything, to bet everything on those things we always dreamed of doing, because, whether we like it or not, the angel of death is waiting for us.

Visa suspension

The temporary suspension of applications for tier 4 student visas to Britain can be seen both in good as well as bad light (“Hard lesson,” Feb. 2, Page 6). It is good considering the extreme difficulties those who went to Britain under this system are now facing — in terms of adaptability, culture, socio-economics. For those eager to study in Britain under the “easy” 4 tier system, let them be in no illusion, it is anything but easy out there. 

At the same time, the abrupt halt in student visas is unjustifiable for if the “British concerns are genuine,” as you impute in your editorial, the UK authorities should have thought about the repercussions of the lax visa policy before its implementation. This policy smacks of British colonialism where the White folks assume they know what’s best for the rest of the world.

Santosh Kalwar

Ratnanagar-04, Tandi, Chitwan


Published: The Kathmandu Post
Letters to the Editor


Source: eKantipur 

What type of work gives you pleasure?

From Paulo Coelho-
"Question of the week: What type of work gives you pleasure?"

In response to question asked by Paulo Coelho here is what I have to say-



Very good question Paulo,

A question has to be well understood before putting a comment or writing an article or even writing a book about it. A nice and beautiful question is such that it gives loads of lessons in our personal, professional life.

Now, the question is- “what kind of work gives pleasure”. The question has “kind of” which is asking a variety, types or the work or many of the work or different kinds of work. It contains the word called “pleasure”. Now to associate the word such as pleasure with the different kind of the work it is not easy.

A person can do many different kind of work. He can have many different identities. He can be a son, at the same time he can also be father, a humble husband, a worker in some company and so on.

If “kind of” is related with the identities then he has to change is multiple identities depending upon the time and circumstances. But again, if “kind of” is related only with the professional work then it is relatively easier than the previous explanation.

Right from the childhood to the very end of a human study we tend to change our path or destination. We do not know what is our main goal or what are we doing with the present course work in school or present work in the office. We tend to change many of the times the work that we have been doing or the course we have been attending or any social activity we are doing at the moment. To relate with the question asked, I would ask again- Why?

The main answer to this question is that- “realize it for yourself”. The most important thing in life is to understand what do you want. Do you need a money ? Do you need a pleasure ? Do you need a nice car, or big house or some materialistic things ?

The “need” drives us to the destination. The need of something will always demand from us to do something. Therefore, it is important to understand what do you need ?

After understanding for yourself, then you do the work. The work could be anything. But once we start to work we should be able to stick to it. This is the most difficult part. It is difficult because, we get lazy and we do not again want to visit the same office every day. We do not then tend to feel as if we really are finding any pleasure in such work.

While you are working, money is important but above money “determination”, “satisfaction” and “attitude” are more important. These elements will not give you the pleasure but these will motivate you to stick or hang in to the work you have been doing lately.

Work is some how related with search of soul mate. Once we understand what kind of person will be our soul mate and we then put all our effort to maintain the relationship with him or her. Similarly, work can be many but once we match the our needs with the work we have been doing; we then tend to stick with the work in front of us.

Therefore, as we are many and all our thinking is different, our taste is different definitely one will find work A better than work B but it is not the case- the most important aspect is to understand what you need and then match your needs with the work given to you. Once this is done, you will not have to search for the pleasure because it will come automatically.

Paulo Coelho

The combination of two words for one of the phenomenal great writer in this century is Sir Paulo Coelho. His writing are exceptionally very nice and wise. One cannot explain why I am writing these words on this man but I should appreciate what he is doing. He is multi talented human. You can see in his eyes everything that you are going to get from him.

Those written words by him will always remind us of wisdom and will help thousand others in their life some way or another. I just saw couple of videos of him. He has come up with new book called "The witch of portobello".

I hear him saying that writing is very lonely process where one become alone but when he comes out of that aloneness then he realizes that he has great impact in society, country and most importantly people's mind.

I really appreciate what he is doing for human kind, peace and prosperity of society and countries. He is exceptional writer and thousand people like him just because you can trust him, you can trust his words and you can learn from his words. Well done Paulo !

(Picture taken from: html.rincondelvago.com )

Welcome 2008

This Year, I feel like starting to live again. I feel like making the mistakes I always wanted to make, but never had the courage to, facing up to the feelings of panic that might well come back, but whose, presence will merely weary me, since I know I'm not going to die or faint because of them. I can make new friends and teach them not to follow the manual of good behavior but to discover their own lives, desires, and adventures and to LIVE. I'll quote from Ecclesiastes to the Catholics, from Koran to the Muslims, from the Torah to the Jews, from Aristotle to the atheists. I never want to be a Professional again, but I can use my experience to give lectures about men and women who knew the truth about this existence of ours and whose writing can be summed up in one word: Live. If you live, god will live with you. If you refuse to run his risks, he'll retreat to that distant heaven and be merely a subject for philosophical speculation. For a time in my life I stood looking at the wind, I forget to sow, I did not live joyfully, and I did not even drink the wine offered me. But this New Year 2008, I judge myself ready. There are people who spend their entire lives searching for a moments but hardly they achieve it. That's why if I were to die now, I would die with heart full of love. I want to feel the rain on my face, to smile at any women I feel attracted to. I want to kiss my mom and dad, tell them I love them, weep in their lap, unashamed of showing my feelings, because they were always there. If an interesting women invites me out to a club, I'll accept,& I'll dance all night until I drop. I want to give myself to one women, to the city, to life and, finally, to my death.

Taken from: “Veronica decides to die” by Paulo Coelho

Message from Paulo Coelho

Today it was abit surprising for me that some great writers like Paulo Coelho has got some time for me to write to me, When i woke up today checking my daily emails.He said he values his readers, Well that is a nice appreciation from the great writer like Paulo Coelho. It is my pleause to recieve the email from him. He also gave me his article of Christmas. Well, There is one question to Mr. Paulo Why in earth he values his reader ? Is it becasue he is afraid of his status.Is it just like that. Or Is it becasuse he cares for his readers. There are many issues when you become famous. You do not want to loose. you always want yourself to see in top. There is one saying that No body no things in whole world is permanent, We all have good days and we all have bad days. Some of the men in this planet are great leaders of the great nation some of the men are just a hard workers. Leadership, Writing skills and other appreciating the theme of life is just not in our hand. I believe nothing is in our hand. No body...can control the next very second of the life. If some thing is going to happen it just happens, call it whatever you wish to call it.., It can be faith..., It also can be anything you wish to put it. This is the way of life we are living, we are a body which is very always in motion. Any ways we always want that moment of our life where we are in motion not to let it go. That is why we always have to come down to earth. Paulo Coelho is great writer and he will be great Writer but .....

He also have to move .. He also has to be in motion and then that moment will be of somebody else. I am not saying that He has something wrong to anybody, He is a fine character and may be a very good human being who is giving loads of knowledge to human beings around the world. But the thing is that, He is afraid ..., Deep inside he is afraid...,

Nothing is permanent in this world, May be The words what i am putting here are negative but these words are not negative or positive it is how we interpert or decode them to understand it.