Manual of the Warrior of Light

 

This is the story of a village- boy who meets a mysterious woman at the beach who talks to  him about the bells ringing from a temple beneath the sea. Years later, the same mysterious  woman asks him to write about the Warrior of Light.

What is a Warrior of Light? The boy asks the woman. The woman replies that a Warrior of Light is one who understands the miracle of life, one who fights for his dreams and one who follows his dreams to reach his destiny. The boy is asked to write down the life lessons of the Warrior of Light.

This is my favorite of all Paulo Coelho's books. Every page is a lesson waiting to be learned. It defines the reader. Are you also a warrior? Then, just hang on 'til you can hear the bells of a drowned temple beneath the ocean ring.

Some of my favorite lines from the book:

There are two types of prayer:

In the first type, the person asks for certain things to happen and attemps to tell God what he should do. This does not allow the Creator either time of space in which to act. God- who knows perfectly well what is best for each of us - will continue to do as he sees fit. And the person praying is left with the impression that his prayer went unanswered.

In the second type, the person may not understand the Almighty's intentions, but he allows his life to develop according to his Creator's plans. He asks to be spared suffering, he asks for the joy in the Good Fight, but he never forgets to add: "Thy will be done."

This is how the Warrior of the Light chooses to pray.

*****
The warrior of light studies the two columns on either side of the door he is trying to open.
One is called Fear and the other is called Desire.

The warrior looks at the column of Fear and on it is written:
'You are entering a dangerous, unfamiliar world where everything you have learned up until now will prove useless.'

The warrior looks at the column of Desire and on it is written:
'You are about to leave a familiar world wherein are stored all the things you ever wanted and for which you struggled long and hard.'

The warrior smiles because nothing frightens him and nothing holds him.
With the confidence of one who knows what he wants, he opens the door.

*****
A warrior of light knows that certain moments repeat themselves. He often finds himself faced by the same problems and situations, and seeing these difficult situations return, he grows depressed, thinking that he is incapable of making any progress in life.

'I've been through all this before,' he says to his heart.
'Yes, you have been through all this before,' replies his heart.
'But you have never been beyond it.'

Then the warrior realizes that these repeated experiences have but one aim: to teach him what he does not want to learn.