Tuesday, September 26, 2006

The Devil and Miss Prym



The international bestselling author of The Alchemist, Eleven Minutes and Veronika Decides To Die has written another masterpiece which deals this time with the centuries old battle between good and evil under the mask of temptation. The chosen location was Viscos, a remote quiet village where people of seemingly good nature thrive. Unbeknownst to most, a stranger with an agenda motivated by his gruesome past,  suddenly visits. This man will unveil fear, vengeance and greed among its inhabitants. The good will be faced with evil and the battle will begin in the hearts and souls of many. Find out how this parable will fare and if the saying  that 'GOOD ALWAYS PREVAILS' still rings true.
~~~oOo~~~
There are some lines in the book which deeply bothered me, like:  
How can one know what will please the Almighty? Do what your heart commands, and God will be happy."  (p. 149).
At first, it made me reminisce all those times when I followed my heart and gave in to my desires. Some were good, some were bad, depending on how one would look at each of my decisions. There were numerous grey areas here. Like running away from home would seem bad if  seen in the perspective of a child disobeying/disrespecting his/her parents but it could be good if it made that person (me) a better provider in the long run. Anyway, during those moments of self liberation, I was happy and I believed that God was also happy with my decisions. On the other hand, if you tell this phrase to the wrong person, this line alone can provoke a lot of  contentions and speculations. What if you say this to someone whose nature is to harm people? E.g. serial killers, terrorists, rapists, and other hardcore criminals who believe that what they're doing is just and is in accordance with some higher power. Science calls this insanity or a chemical breakdown in the brain. Still, some would think that perhaps, these criminals were simply brainwashed by powerful influences. Will God still be happy with this? On the surface, most of us would answer a resounding NO. But if you think outside of the box, whether we were chosen to portray the bad deed or the good, we are just merely puppets playing our roles in God's grand scheme of things. Come to think of it, based on the bible, Judas' role was very significant to humankind's salvation. If he didn't betray Christ, there would be no crucifixion, therefore, no salvation. The same thing holds true for us.  Complicated, isn't it?
~~~oOo~~~
          
Another paragraph struck me as well :
 ... there were two things that prevent us from achieving our dreams: believing them to be impossible, or seeing those things made possible by some sudden turn of the wheel of fortune, when you least expected it. For at that moment, all our fears suddenly surface: the fear of setting off along a road heading who knows where, the fear of a life full of new challenges, the fear of losing forever everything that is familiar."  (p. 34).
I remember that time when I was given an opportunity to pursue a scholarship when I didn't even apply for one. The only catch was to study full time and quit my work at GSIS. I was really torn. I couldn't let go of my financial obligations to my family but I also didn't want to give up this once in a lifetime opportunity to pursue a masteral in psychology, all expenses paid. In the end, all my fears of not being able to provide for my family suddenly surfaced and I was forced to let go of that chance and stick to my current job that helps me pay for all our bills.  Do you think it was a good decision? Until now, I still can't answer this question.
~~~oOo~~~

What's good about most of Paolo Coelho's books is that they certainly make you think. You start to ask questions and try to come up with the answers.  But no matter how many answers you've got, what matters is that you asked at all.  As the old saying goes  "An unexamined life is a life  not worth living". So go ahead and ask questions. You may  not find all the answers you're looking for but at least took the time to discern your purpose and live your life.

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