‘This is the making off of a 60 sec ad to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declarations of Human Rights. It will be broadcasting on Dec 10, all over the world. It took more than four hours for the team (and one hour for me) to record this 60 seconds.’

‘This is the trailler of my Transiberian Journey. Starting on October 6 till October 11, I’ll upload the whole movie in six episodes.’

‘This video was shot today for a Peace Ad. As you can see Paulo cannot believe his eyes…’

The warrior always listens to the words of certain older thinkers, such as these by T.H.Huxley:
‘The consequences of our actions are the scarecrows of fools and the beacons of wise men.’
‘The chess-board is the world; the pieces are the gestures of our daily lives; the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature. The player on the other side is hidden from us, but we know that his play is always fair, just and patient.’
The warrior simply has to accept the challenge. He knows that God never overlooks a single mistake made by those he loves nor does he allow his favourites to pretend ignorance of the rules of the game.

Translated by Margaret Jull Costa

by Paulo Coelho

Every warrior of light has felt afraid of going into battle.
Every warrior of light has, at some time in the past, lied or betrayed someone.
Every warrior of light has trodden a path that was not his.
Every warrior of light has suffered for the most trivial of reasons.
Every warrior of light has, at least once, believed that he was not a warrior of light.
Every warrior of light has failed in his spiritual duties.
Every warrior of light has said ‘yes’ when he wanted to say ‘no’.
Every warrior of light has hurt someone he loved.
That is why he is a warrior of light, because he has been through all this and yet has never lost hope of being better than he is.

Translated by Margaret Jull Costa

by Paulo Coelho

The warrior of light knows that no one is stupid and that life teaches everyone - however long that may take.
He always does his best and expects the best of others. Through his generosity, he tries to show each person how much they are capable of achieving.
Some of his companions say: ‘Some people are so ungrateful.’
The warrior is not discouraged by this. And he continues to encourage other people because this is also a way of encouraging himself.

Translated by Margaret Jull Costa

by Paulo Coelho

This past Sunday I went to see Madonna in Stade de France. And what did I see? A young 50 year-old dancing like a child, a queen, a teenager.

It got me thinking about the fact that I believe we are aging differently from the previous generations. I remember for instance my parents at the age of 50, and they were already old, and more importantly they considered themselves as already old.

We could not play music loud. They were loosing interest in life (and probably in sex also…) For them, the past was better than the present moment. So they used a lot the famous sentence: “We are too old to have a new experience”.

I was surprised in seeing myself dancing during the show, but I was much more surprised on seeing this fantastic icon (by the way, she is my friend, so please don’t say something bad about her) having a lot of fun on the stage.

I posted in my blog ( www.paulocoelhoblog.com ) a podcast where I suggest my readers to give their opinion on aging today. I was surprised on seeing, in just two days, how many comments I had.

So what’s your opinion on aging (not on Madonna)? Did we change our perception of how to get old? There is a beautiful poem by Jenny Joseph that I want to share with you:

When I am an old woman,
I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go,
and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension
on brandy and summer gloves and satin sandles,
And say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
and gobble up samples in shops
and press alarm bells
and run with my stick along public railings,
and make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
and pick flowers in other people’s gardens
and learn to spit!
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
and eat three pounds of sausages at ago,
or only bread and pickles for a week,
and hoard pens and pencils
and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry,
and pay our rent
and not swear in the street,
and set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner
and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me
are not too shocked and surprised
when suddenly I am old,
And start to wear purple!

by Paulo Coelho

A warrior of light knows his own faults. But he also knows his qualities.
Some of his companions complain all the time that ‘other people have more opportunities than we do’.
Perhaps they are right, but a warrior does not allow himself to be paralysed by this; he tries to make the most of his virtues.
He knows that the gazelle’s power lies in its strong legs. The power of the seagull lies in the accuracy with which it can spear a fish. He has learned that the reason the tiger does not fear the hyena is because he is aware of his own strength.
He tries to establish what he can truly rely on. And he always checks that he carries three things with him: faith, hope and love.
If these three things are there, he does not hesitate to go forward.

Translated by Margaret Jull Costa

by Paulo Coelho

A warrior of light carefully studies the position that he intends to conquer.
However difficult the objective, there is always a way of overcoming obstacles. He seeks out alternative paths, he sharpens his sword, he tries to fill his heart with the necessary perseverance to face the challenge.
But as he advances, the warrior realises that there are difficulties he had not reckoned with.
If he waits for the ideal moment, he will never set off; he requires a touch of madness to take the next step.
The warrior uses that touch of madness. For - in both love and war - it is impossible to foresee everything.

Translated by Margaret Jull Costa

by Paulo Coelho

From now on - and for the next few hundred years - the Universe is going to help warriors of light and hinder the prejudiced.
The Earth’s energy needs to be renewed.
New ideas need space.
Body and soul need new challenges.
The future has become the present, and every dream - except those dreams that involve preconceived ideas - will have a chance to be heard.
Anything of importance will remain; anything useless will disappear. However, it is not the warrior’s responsibility to judge the dreams of others, and he does not waste time criticising other people’s decisions.
In order to have faith in his own path, he does not need to prove that someone else’s path is wrong.

Translated by Margaret Jull Costa

by Paulo Coelho