By The River Piedra: Final Thoughts

Well no one seemed to be participating in The Book Club again so I went right ahead and finished the book this past week. Once again I found myself reading what I needed to hear: a story about forgiveness, letting go of past hate and appreciating and taking hold of present opportunities so that you may learn to grow and love. I'm not exactly there yet, but it's a nice goal to aim for.

Although I enjoyed The Alchemist much more than By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, there was still much to take out of the quick read. Paulo Coelho has such a gift for presenting profound messages using simple - yet beautiful - language. It's another one of those stories you could read over and over and discover something new each time. Below, another favorite passage that stayed with me long after the last page was read.

"I began to imagine how I would like to be living right at that moment. I wanted to be happy, curious, joyful - living every moment intensely, drinking the water of life thirstily. Believing again in my dreams. Able to fight for what I wanted.

Loving a man who loved me.

Yes, that was the woman I wanted to be - the woman who was suddenly presenting herself and becoming me.

I felt that my soul was bathed in the light of a god - or of a goddess - in whom I had lost faith. And I felt that at that moment, the Other left my body and was standing in the corner of that small room.

I observed the woman I had been up until then: weak but trying to give the impression of strength. Fearful of everything but telling herself it wasn't fear - it was the wisdom of someone who knew what reality was. Putting up shutters in front of windows to keep the joy of the sun from entering - just so the sun's rays wouldn't fade my old furniture.

I looked at the Other, there in the corner of the room - fragile, exhausted, disillusioned. Controlling and enslaving what should really be free: her emotions. Trying to judge her future loves by the rules of her past suffering.

But love is always new. Regardless of whether we love once, twice, or a dozen times in our life, we always face a brand-new situation. Love can consign us to hell or to paradise, but it always takes us somewhere. We simply have to accept it, because it is what nourishes our existence. If we reject it, we die of hunger, because we lack the courage to stretch out a hand and pluck the fruit from the branches of the tree of life. We have to take love where we find it, even if that means hours, days, weeks of disappointment and sadness.

The moment we begin to seek love, love begins to seek us.

And to save us."


In all the books I've read, I don't remember relating to a character as much as I did with Pilar. Does such a character exist for you?

Image: homepage.mac.com

By The River Piedra (Through page 51)


So I've read through the first quarter of the book (I didn't have as much time this week as I'd hoped). Below are my thoughts and some prompts about what I've read so far. Feel free to comment on these or add your own about this section.

- The first chapter was captivating. You want to know why this girl is writing and crying by the river, telling her story and hoping the current takes her pain away to the sea. For some reason the man she loved (and was with just a week ago) was no longer with her. And so the story begins from there.

"Perhaps love makes us old before our time - or young, if youth has passed. But how can I not recall those moments? That is why I write - to try to turn sadness into longing, solitude into remembrance. So that when I finish telling myself the story, I can toss into the Piedra. That's what the woman who has given me shelter told me what to do. Only then - in the words of one of the saints - will the water extinguish what the flames have written.

All love stories are the same."


I wonder what happened…

- How happy was I when Pilar pulled an out-of-character move and decided to run off with this boy for the weekend? I could relate. I remember driving four hours to visit Mr. First for a weekend and to have our first dates. I'd said no several times before I finally gave in and had a great time. (In turn he spontaneously decided to drive us for six hours total so I could finally see Niagara Falls that weekend.) Have you ever done anything out-of-character for someone you liked?

- Pilar has been fighting with her heart during this whole trip. Her problem? She thinks too much! She wants to believe that her childhood friend really loves her, but she’s afraid to trust and just go with it. So she questions his motives. Some say to love is to have faith and, of course, we learn that Pilar has lost her faith in her religion. Do you think faith and love go hand in hand?

- My favorite passage so far is on page 42:

He laughed. “I admire you. And I admire the battle you’re waging with your heart.
“What battle?”
“Never mind,” he said.
But I knew what he was talking about.
“Don’t kid yourself,” I said. “We can talk about it if you like. You’re mistaken about my feelings.”
He stopped fooling with his glass and looked at me. “No, I’m not mistaken. I know you don’t love me.”
This confused me even more.
“But I’m going to fight for your love,” he continued. “There are some things in life worth fighting for to the end.”
I was speechless.
“You are worth it,” he said.

*Swoon* I want to be worth it for someone someday. What’s your fave passage?

- So this worldly guy has some sort of secret activity going on tied in with his religious teachings. What do you think he's doing on the side? Miracles? Did he ultimately choose his work over love?

Sidenote: I really liked what he had to say in his lecture: You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.

Note to self: take more risks. Thus far, I've regretted the times I never took the chance much more than when I simply asked, "Why not?" and just went for it.

Image: monasteriopiedra.com

The Book Club is Back!

So I'm finally restarting The Book Club in ten days! I've got my hand on a book I'd love to read along with you and then share our thoughts with each other.

I've chosen By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept by the wonderful Paulo Coelho. Actually it came to me. My coworker had been telling me to read it for a while and her copy was finally waiting for me on my desk Tuesday morning. I fell in love with The Alchemist a while ago and am eager to dive into this story:


"Rarely does adolescent love reach its full potential, but what happens when two young lovers reunite after eleven years? Time has transformed Pilar into a strong and independent woman, while her devoted childhood friend has grown into a handsome and charismatic spiritual leader. She has learned well how to bury her feelings . . . and he has turned to religion as a refuge from his raging inner conflicts.

Now they are together once again, embarking on a journey fraught with difficulties, as long-buried demons of blame and resentment resurface after more than a decade. But in a small village in the French Pyrenees, by the waters of the River Piedra, a most special relationship will be reexamined in the dazzling light of some of life's biggest questions."


It seems like a quick read (that hopefully will not disappoint), but I'll break it up into several posts. We can sound off once a week on lazy Sunday evenings. Care to join me? If so, I'll see you on the 24th :)

Image: harpercollins.com

Reviving the Book Club

[Hey sillyheads! I thought I'd intervene in this "Dorkys Is Away" fest to let you all know that I'm planning to start The Book Club again. I didn't get much participation the first and last time I tried it out, but I'd love to give it another shot. Are there any awesome books you've been dying to read? If so, comment below and I'll choose a couple contenders once I get back. Then we can vote on them next Monday! Ok, carry on now while I get back to this martini...mmm...]

The Last Lecture: Final Thoughts

So I finished the book several days ago and wanted to leave you guys with two more quotes from Randy Pausch:

"Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won't make us happier."

"It's not about how to achieve your dreams. It's about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you."

If you read the book as well, feel free to share any thoughts. I personally loved how he led his life down to the very end. I probably would have fallen to pieces, but he saw this wouldn't do him or the people he loved any good. He was realistic about his situation and yet sought to enjoy every minute. But living as if it might be his last day wasn't such a huge departure for him; it's how he had been living the whole time.